Pepper Witnesses Up Trend

Kochi: Pepper futures market during the week saw an upward swing on purchasing support and firm prices of other origins. All contracts on NCDEX and NMCE increased by Rs 245 to Rs 431 and Rs 310 to Rs 438 a quintal respectively. Spot prices also in tandem with the futures market trend and short supply increased by Rs 400 a quintal during the week. Total turnover on NCDEX dropped by 13,959 tonnes, while on NMCE it decline by 1,781 tonnes. August position increased by 1,001 tonnes to 14,659 tonnes. In the international market, all the origins were showing firmness smelling a tight supply position.
Besides, the world production projection for 2007 showed a drop of 25-30 per cent over the previous year and as a result other producing countries had quoted higher prices this year so far. Indian prices have been moving up on strong fundamentals and not on speculations. According to the International Pepper Community report for the week, there was an improvement in the domestic market of black pepper in the country. In Vietnam, the market also showed some activities and prices were reported to have increased significantly.