Kerala To Click On Cardamom E-Auctions Soon

KOCHI: Cardamom auctions in the country will be concentrated in two places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala with the Spices Board all set to begin e-auctions at Vandanmettu on December 8.

The board had set the ball rolling on e-auctions at Bodinaikanur in Tamil Nadu on August 23. The auction centre was set up with 30 terminals at an investment of Rs 22 lakh. After initial hesitancy, the process was accepted by the traders and auctioneers. The commerce ministry had announced then that the government would extend e-auctions to Kerala and phase out the manual auction in a few months.

At Vandanmettu, the Spices Board is investing Rs 55 lakh for establishing 60 trading terminals. Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh will inaugurate the centre.

But unlike Bodinaikanur, the traders and auctioneers indulging in cardamom auctions at Kumily, Nedukandam and Puliyanmala in Idukki district will have to migrate to Vandanmettu for e-auctions.

Market sources said this could cause temporary inconvenience as most of the sellers in Kerala are located in Kumily. They will have to travel 22 km to Vandanmettu four days a week for the e-auctions. This may have to continue for some period till e-auctions comes to other centres.

At present, biggest cardamom auctions are conducted at Kumily by Cardamom Processing and Marketing Co-operative Society and Kerala Cardamom Processing and Marketing Co-operative Society.

The e-auctions are happening at a time when prices are ruling high due to low arrivals. The average auction price at Kumily on Wednesday was Rs 550 per kg, the best in the last few years. The January and February futures prices are hovering at Rs 605 per kg and Rs 617 per kg, respectively at MCX.

The prices will stay high for the season as there is a 40% shortfall in production. The output was around 11,000 tonnes last year.