Potato production In W Bengal Likely To Fall 20%

Mumbai: West Bengal's potato production in 2007 calendar year is expected to be lower by 20 per cent from the estimate of 9 million tonne because of unseasonal rains and foggy weather ahead of the harvest, according to a senior government official. Total output, however, in the state will be more or less the same as last year," said D Konar, director of agriculture, West Bengal. Buoyed by last year's high prices, the area under potato cultivation in the state has increased to 420,000 hectare compared with 310,000 hectare Based on the increased acreage, the state had estimated this year's output at 9 million tonne, against the actual output of 7.48 million tonne last year. Unseasonal rains last month have caused damage to the crop, but the state's overall potato production is not seen substantially down because of higher acreage. The state government has decided to offer crop insurance to farmers who have suffered losses. Potato is cultivated across 10 districts of West Bengal including Midnapore, North and South Dinajpur, North and South 24 Parganas, and Jalpaiguri.

Rubber Witnesses Down Trend

Kottayam: Domestic rubber rates continued under pressure as global rubber futures were in a corrective phase on March 14. On the physical front, RSS 4 declined to Rs 87 a kg from 87.75 and Rs 88 a kg respectively at Kottayam and Kochi. The rubber futures lost heavily in the morning session but the distant contracts bounced back later and closed in green on fresh buying and short covering on NMCE. The March contract completed at Rs 85.01(89.01), April at Rs 88.90 (88.69), May at Rs 92.49 (91.75) and June at Rs 95.75 (95.01) per kg for RSS 4. The April contract for the grade was marginally weak at Rs 89.30 against Rs 89.42 a kg on MCX. The April futures for RSS 3 declined to 255.5 Yen (Rs 97.58) from 260.4 Yen a kg at TOCOMPhysical prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 87 (87.75); RSS-5: 86 (87); ungraded: 85 (86); ISNR 20: 86 (86.50) and latex 60 per cent: 62.10 (62.10).

Rubber Witnesses Steady Trend

Kottayam: Physical rubber prices closed on a firm note on March 13. Sheet rubber finished flat at Rs 87.75 and Rs 88 a kg respectively at Kottayam and Kochi as on March 12. The trading lacked proper direction in the absence of domestic fundamental support and guidance, sources said. The March delivery contract for the grade declined sharply to Rs 85.33 (89.03), April to Rs 88.99 (90.35), May to Rs 91.99 (93.96) and June contract to Rs 95.27 (97.76) a kg on NMCE.
The transactions totalled 4,049 (3,198) lots. The open interest stood at 12,182 (15,687) lots with 824 lots in March, 4942 lots in April, 4946 lots in May and 1470 lots in June. The April futures for RSS 3 improved to 260.4 Yen (Rs 98.14) from 258 Yen a kg at TOCOM. The grade was quoted at Rs 97.90 a kg at Bangkok. Spot rubber rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 87.75 (87.75); RSS-5: 87 (87); ungraded: 86 (86); ISNR 20: 86.50 (86.50) and latex 60 per cent: 62.10 (62.10).

Pepper Future Witnesses Up Trend

Kochi: The pepper futures market on March 13, increased on speculative activities following rumours of delay in shipping of the commodity from Vietnam. Marketfed, the Kerala Government procurement agency, on March 13, sold 100 tonnes of pepper held by it at Rs 11,250 a quintal. On NCDEX, March contract increased by Rs 71 a quintal to close at Rs 11,770 on Tuesday from Rs 11,699. On NMCE, March contract increased by Rs 62 a quintal to close at Rs 11,225 from Rs 11,163. The total turnover on NCDEX increased by 3,611 tonnes to 22,922 tonnes, while on NMCE it moved up by 394 tonnes to 2,642 tonnes. Total open interest on NCDEX fell by 193 tonnes to 29,417 tonnes. March position fell by 1,678 tonnes to 351 tonnes. The spot prices increased by Rs 100 a quintal to close at Rs 11,200 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,800 (MG 1) on March 13.

India Merges Larges Pepper Exports To US In Jan

Kochi: India overtook Vietnam to emerge as the largest exporter of black pepper to the US in January, buoy by export subsidy. This is happening after a gap of five years. Major export houses were able to ship the spice in large quantities between November 2006 and January 2007, with the subsidy bringing about a level playing field in the domestic and the global prices of black pepper. Of the total US imports of 4,226 tonne in January, India shipped 1,870 tonne, followed by 1,225 tonne from Brazil, 465 tonne from Indonesia, 375 tonne from Vietnam and 115 tonne from Malaysia. Vietnam, Brazil and Indonesia dominated the US market for the last five years, with India at the bottom of the list. The fall in the January exports of Vietnam was mainly because of the offseason in the country. Vietnam's stock position was rather weak between October 2006 and January 2007, as the country had shipped around 118,000 tonne during the 2006 season. Between January 2006 and January 2007, the total US imports ballooned to 59,724 tonne, almost equal to the average annual production of India. In the previous period, the US imports accounted for 56,760 tonne. Meanwhile, signalling a better crop in the current year, Vietnam's total exports in February increased to 4,258 tonne from 3,447 tonne in January. Germany topped the importers' list of the Vietnam variety in February with 687 tonne, followed by Singapore importing 565 tonne and India ranking the third, importing 548 tonne from Vietnam in February, with black pepper accounting for 427 tonne and white pepper making up 121 tonne. With the gap between Indian and Vietnamese tags widening, pepper processors were now looking at Vietnam as a cheaper destination and imports from the country would rise in the coming months, said leading processors. Even in January, the processors had imported 662 tonne, mainly from Brazil. While the Indian exports during April 2006-January 2007 had increased to 22,270 tonne valued at Rs 230.32 crore, the exports in January alone were 1,917 tonne worth Rs 26.79 crore.

Pepper Futures Likely To Decline Further

Kochi: Wild fluctuations in the pepper futures market in past few weeks have crumpled investor's confidence in the market. Once the market stabilises, demand from overseas at lower levels is hoped. At present the purchasers are putting off decisions to take position, anticipating further decline in the prices once Vietnam's produce enters the market in full swing. Arrivals in the terminal market continued to be thin last week despite full-fledged harvesting. Exporters in Sri Lanka were quoting 525 GL at $2,535-2,550 a tonne. Pepper from the island nation is hopoed to land in Indian markets from next months under Free Trade Agreement.
During the week, the pepper futures markets saw a dip of Rs 339 to Rs 464 a quintal, while the spot prices fell by Rs 200 a quintal. The total turnover on NCDEX declined by 7,335 tonnes to 6,212 tonnes on March 10, while on NMCE it decreased by 309 tonnes to 2,027 tonnes. The total open interest on NCDEX improved by 146 tonnes to 29,588 tonnes. March position was down by 150 tonnes to 7,361 tonnes, while April fell by 22 tonnes to 11,700 tonnes. May position increased by 201 tonnes to 6,258 tonnes. On NMCE, total open interest moved up by 97 tonnes to 5,166 tonnes, while March decreased by 180 tonnes to 2,272 tonnes.

Cardamom Prices Fall Due To Weak Demand

Kochi: Cardamom prices take beating at Wednesday's weekly auctions held by Cardamom Processing and Marketing Company in Kumily owing tepid demand, despite fall in arrivals to 47 tonne from 65 tonne a week ago, dealers said. Supply of fresh stock is down with the peak season of harvest coming to an end, a dealer said. Demand from exporters staying flat at 5 tonne for second week in a row also hurt sentiment. Top quality 8mm bold grades fetched Rs 451 a kg compared with Rs 475 a week ago. Next best 7.5mm grades rose slightly to Rs 370-Rs 410 a kg from Rs 360-Rs 400, while 7mm grades received Rs 330-Rs 370 compared with Rs 330-Rs 360 a kg a week ago. Current bulk grade was Rs 310-Rs 340 a kg compared with Rs 300-Rs 340 last week. Average price slipped to Rs 352 a kg from Rs 357 a week ago.

Pepper Likely To Gain On Tight Supply

Every dip in the futures market is a good opportunity for the investors to buy pepper in the wake of the current tight supply position in the domestic and world market. At present, the market is fluctuating depending upon the financial muscle power of the bulls and the bears. In the international market, offers from Vietnam is expected to commence from mid-March. But, according to latest information prices there are likely to rule high contrary to expectations. According to Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), this year's weather is inconvenient for pepper cultivation, as a result, black pepper volume for export will be reduced by 10 per cent. VPA is searching for material sources from Cambodia and Indonesia to make up for the deficiency.
On the other hand, foreign investments are said to taking place in Vietnam in pepper processing and marketing and that might also contribute to good quality and a consequent increase in prices. Meanwhile, since the prices are ruling high overseas buyers are waiting for prices to drop after selling pressure builds up in Vietnam later this month. In the futures market, prices declined marginally on bearish operations. Investors who had sold futures are ready to buy spot NCDEX delivered. On NCDEX, March contract dropped by Rs 45 a quintal to close at Rs 12,352. The decline in other contracts was from Rs 6 to Rs 29 a quintal. On NMCE, March contract fell by Rs 79 a quintal to close at Rs 11,601. The fall in other contracts was from Rs 40 to 81 a quintal.

Cumin Seed Likely To Dip On Crop Damage

Mumbai: Cumin seed (jeera) futures prices are expected to witness downward movement next week on heavy crop arrivals, analysts and traders said. Imports are also expected from Syria along with the domestic produce. On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, futures for March and April delivery have gone up by 27 per cent in the last one month on fears of crop damage due to heavy rains in the growing areas and firm demand in spot markets. The May contract, trading in which commenced on February 10, has risen 24 per cent so far. Arrivals from Rajasthan will commence after Holi, which falls on March 4. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the leading producers of cumin seed. Overall, supplies are seen rising with imports of the commodity from Syria entering the markets this month. This time around the prices offered by Syria, one of the largest producer in the world, were lower than those in Indian markets, prompting the company to import. Heavy inflow of jeera is also expected to coincide with steady offtake in spot markets. Kotak Commodities has asked market participants to book profits in March jeera contract. Weather in Rajasthan is expected to return to normalcy in next few days, helping erase fears of crop damage, analysts said. Jeera prices were expected to come under correction on high inflow of crop arrivals but heavy rains in Rajasthan and Gujarat prompted traders to build long positions. Jeera being a delicate crop is susceptible to vagaries of weather. "After a short spell of dry weather, rains have resumed over Rajasthan.

Govt Bans Futures Trading In Wheat, Rice

Mumbai: India, the world's second largest producer of wheat and rice, has prohibited futures trading in the two commodities to bring down the fastest inflation in two years. Trading will come to an end once existing contracts expire on the nation's three exchanges including the NCDEX, the Forward Markets Commission said. According to the source, the government took this step due to the mounting political pressure to combat inflation. Wheat for March delivery plummeted as much as 1 per cent to Rs 947 per 100 kg on the National Exchange. Contracts for June and July declined 2.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. Wheat had gained 26 per cent in the past 10 months, tracking a 35 per cent gain on the Chicago Board of Trade. The value of trades on the 24 commodity bourses touched Rs 27.4 trillion ($619 billion) between April and December, surpassing Rs 21.55 trillion for the year ended March 2006, as economic expansion in China and India, the world's fastest-growing economies, sent metals and energy prices to records. A surge in turnover has raised the pressure to halt trading in food staples, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on February 21. Of late, the government brought down import duties on cooking oils, steel, aluminum, copper, cement and chemicals such as sulphur, and cut prices of auto fuels. Last week, the government said it will sell 365,000 tonne of wheat at below market prices to cushion consumers from rising food prices.