Cardamom arrivals at Bodi auction stood at 47 tonnes

Kochi: With the auction held by STCL in Bodinayakannur on June 7, probably the season's auctions have come to an end. The first auction of the next season might be held in mid-August depending upon the beginning of harvesting. Total arrivals at the Bodi auction stood at 47 tonnes. The previous auction was held on June 1. Upcountry purchasers, considering it the last auction, were active. The total arrivals during the current season up to June 6 fetched at 8,128 tonnes while the total sales were at 7,471 tonnes. During the same period last season the total arrivals were at 9,410 tonnes and sales 8,786 tonnes. Thus, there was a sharp fall of 1,282 tonnes in arrivals and 1,315 tonnes in sales. The prices of graded varieties as on June 2 were AGEB Rs 450 - Rs 460, AGB Rs 390 - Rs 400, AGS Rs 370 - Rs 380 and AGS 1 Rs 325 - Rs 335 a kg. Prices in the open market at Bodinayakannur were AGEB Rs 440 - Rs 450, AGB Rs 370 - Rs 380, AGS Rs 360 - Rs 365 and AGS1 Rs 290 - Rs 300. Bulk was being sold at Rs 350 - Rs 440 a kg.

Pepper future declines

Kochi: Pepper futures market fell on June 8, due to the uncertainty over the quantity restrictions on nearby position. The revised quantity restriction would come into force from July 16 and hence there was panic in the market on July/August/September positions. Purchasers and sellers were liquidating their positions. The June contract on NCDEX fell by Rs 15 on June 8, to close at Rs 13,969 from Rs 13,984 on June 7. The decline in other contracts was from Rs 184 to Rs 240 a quintal. On NMCE, June contract dropped Rs 139 a quintal to Rs 13,434. The decline in other contracts except August was from Rs 47 to Rs 169 a quintal. August increased by Rs 74 a quintal.

The total turnover on NCDEX increased by 461 tonnes to 19,259 tonnes, while on NMCE it fell by 143 tonnes to 1,420 tonnes. The total open interest on NCDEX dropped by 736 tonnes to 26,815 tonnes. June position fell by 518 tonnes to 7,860 tonnes, while July fell by 406 tonnes to 11,980 tonnes. However, August improved by 69 tonnes to 4,885 tonnes. Spot prices in tandem with the downward trend in the futures fell by Rs 100 a quintal on Friday to close at Rs 13,600 (un-garbled) and Rs 14,200 (MG 1).

Kochi tea auction sees mixed trend

Kochi: New flush from the monsoons has raised arrivals to the Kochi tea auction with the quantum of dust growing to 13,24,000 kg although leaf arrivals declined to 2,58,000 kg. Prices of CTC teas fell by Rs 2 to 3. CTC teas below Rs 50 witnessed good enquiry from exporters. Orthodox high grown dust remained steady. Best CTC varieties quoted between Rs 56 and Rs 65, medium CTC ranged Rs 50- 54, while below medium was at Rs 38-40. High grown BOPD quoted Rs 116, medium BOPD was at Rs 45- 46 and secondaries fetched Rs 36 - 40.

Lower arrivals seem to have picked up the leaf tea market where high grown orthodox grades were dearer by Rs 2-3 following quality. Mediums also saw firm markets, while the price of secondary orthodox eased. Orthodox grades saw good enquiry from exporters to CIS countries. Best Nilgiri varieties fetched Rs 67 - 87, medium orthodox was at Rs 48 - 75 while plain orthodox was at Rs 42 - 44. Best CTC leaf fetched Rs 50 - 55 and medium CTC ranged at Rs 43 - 45.

Port restricts on Sri Lanka quota tea imports off

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has done away with port curbs on imports of quota tea from Sri Lanka at a concessional rate under the Indo-Sri Lanka free trade agreement (FTA). Under the FTA, up to 15 million kg of tea from Sri Lanka can be imported yearly into India at a concessional import duty of 7.5 per cent. Currently, basic Customs duty on tea is 100 per cent and that on instant tea is 30 per cent The restrictions were placed under the FTA, which was signed in 1998, to assuage the concerns of the domestic tea growers, especially those from South India, who apprehended large-scale imports from Sri Lanka, affecting their interests. During negotiations with India, Sri Lanka had submitted that it was not able to use the annual tariff rate quota of 15 million kg due to import conditions such as port restrictions. Only 0.11 million kg valued at Rs 1.90 crore were imported during January-December 2005 against 0.16 million valued at Rs 1.86 crore during the corresponding period in 2004. During January-November 2006, import of tea from Sri Lanka under the FTA totaled to only 0.060 million kg against 0.094 million kg during the corresponding period of 2005. Tea imports into the country moved up 19.25 per cent during April-January 2006-07 to $24.82 million, compared to $20.81 million in the corresponding previous period. In value terms, tea totaled for 0.02 per cent of the country's total imports during the period.

MMTC Ltd to float tender for 50,000 tonnes wheat import

Barely a week after the trashing of a 10-lakh tonne (lt) wheat import tender by the State Trading Corporation of India (STC), it is the turn of the other parastatal, MMTC Ltd, to float a tender for 50,000 tonnes. Unlike STC, which was purchasing on behalf of the Food Corporation of India (STC), MMTC's tender is a purely commercial transaction for supply of wheat to domestic roller flour mills. The tender, which opens on June 19 with bids valid till June 29, gives MMTC the option to buy an additional 50,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the US commodity giant, Cargill, has booked at least one vessel of 35,000-45,000 tonnes of Black Sea origin wheat for delivery in Chennai and Tuticorin ports in September. STC tender was floated very late in end-April, when there was very little wheat in the world market. Cargill's contract was around February and was, in fact, done in Indian rupees. Since the dollar was then Rs 44.50-45 and is now Rs 40.50, the landed price for the contract would currently be about $ 259 per tonne.During 2006-07, the country imported roughly 63 lt of wheat, including 55 lt on Government account and the rest by the private trade. In the current fiscal, the Government is still to import any grain, while the private trade has done about 30,000-40,000 tonnes mainly from Pakistan.

Oilmeal Exports Decline 50 pc in May

Mumbai: Oilmeals export fell in May sharply. Shipments of various oilseed extractions amounted 2.3 lakh tonnes (lt), almost half of 4.4 lt shipped out in April. Exports include mainly 1.1 lt of soyabean meal, 74,000 tonnes of rapeseed meal and 30,700 tonnes of castor meal. In the first two months of the current fiscal, oilmeal shipments aggregated 6.6 lt unchanged from the same period last year. Total exports of oilmeals during fiscal 2006-07 were a record 52 lt. In recent weeks, a firming rupee too has blunted the competitive edge of oilmeal exports. When seen on an oil year basis (November 2006 onwards), oilmeal exports totalled 38.7 lt till May compared to 35.8 lt during the first seven months of 2005-06. Soyameal remains to command the export basket with 28.3 lt followed by rapeseed meal at 6.3 lt.

Rubber Price Increases

Kottayam: Spot rubber rates improved on June 6. Sellers withdrew while covering groups turned active above Rs 85 level, which offered a short-term technical support to the market. RSS 4 improved by 25 paise to Rs 85.75 a kg at Kottayam but the grade continued to rule flat at Rs 85.50 a kg at Kochi. The rubber futures completed almost steady quoting the June contract for RSS 4 at Rs 85.79 (85.76) a kg on MCX. The June contract for the grade was quoted at Rs 86.70 (86.76), July at Rs 88.23 (88.44), August at Rs 88.40 (88.44) and September contract at Rs 86.40 (86.28) per kg on NMCE. The July futures for RSS 3 fell to 283.6 Yen (Rs 94.67) from 285.5 Yen a kg at TOCOM. The grade (spot) decline to Rs 95.72 from Rs 96.15 a kg at Bangkok.

Erratic Monsoon Decreases Cardamom Crop Production

Kochi: Erratic southwest monsoon this year may delay the next cardamom crop apart from decreasing the output. The plantations in Kerala's Idukki district where much of the crop in the country is cultivated are in a bad shape due to protracted dry spell. The situation has been further aggravated with insufficient rains so far this year making the revival of the plants almost unlikely mainly in the un-irrigated areas. After May 28, there hasn't been any showers and this has affected the flowering and pollination. Hence, given the present unfavourable weather conditions, harvest in the next season would be delayed and the first crop might arrive only by August third week.

According to the Spices Board, the total area under cardamom in the country in 2003-04 was 73,237 hectares and of which the yield area was at 55,221 hectares. Kerala topped with 41,332 ha (with 30,991 ha yielding area) followed by Karnataka with 26,838 ha (20,510 ha) and Tamil Nadu 5,067 ha (3,720 ha). The yield per ha in the three States was very low with 286 kg, 85 kg and 259 kg respectively. The total production during the current season, which has come to an end, is pegged at around 11,000 tonnes from that of last season (Aug - July) provisionally put at 12,540 tonnes.

Coimbatore Tea Auction Witnesses Fair Demand

Coimbatore: The volumes on offer at the weekly tea auction conducted at the Tea Trade Association of Coimbatore moved up from just over four lakh kg the previous week to 6.20 lakh kg, with leaf grades accounting for 2.10 lakh kg. The orthodox leaf grades reported fair demand. Internal enquiry was limited to whole leaf grades and prices slipped by Rs 2-3 a kg with some withdrawals. HLL operated on medium quality CTC leaf grades selectively. Exporters were active on larger, bolder grades and larger brokens. Internal demand was selective. There was fair demand for CTC dust at lower levels. High-priced, good liquoring sorts were irregular, quoting easier by Re 1-Rs 2 with some withdrawals.

Higher Mango Dispatch To North Despite Decline In Production

Hyderabad: Despite a vast decline in mango output this year, farmers and traders in Krishna district are sending more mangoes to markets in the North than last year. Using the special trains in Vijayawada division of South Central Railway (SCR), the farmers have so far been able to send 31,330 tonnes in 30 rakes against a total of 31,850 tonnes from 30 rakes in 2006-07. The division mulls to operate four-five rakes more this season to help the farmers and traders reach out the northern market where there is great demand for Banginapally variety. It's not just mango farmers that are benefited; the division too earned good revenues out of this business. The year 2003-04 registered highest loading of 48,658 tonnes from 50 rakes, followed by 38,255 tonnes from 39 rakes in 2005-06. The SCR charges only 50 per cent of the normal freight charges for mangoes as they come under the bracket of perishable products. As a result, the size of revenues might not cross Rs 5.4 crore earned by the division last year from mango business.