Pepper Futures Regained

Kochi: Pepper futures, which declined on speculation that the Centre was cutting Customs duty, bounced back strongly on March 30. International market continued to remain firm with not much let up. Prices of all the origins except India continued to rule steady at previous levels. Strong rupee against dollar has also contributed to this phenomenon. Investors were selling futures and purchasing exchange delivered material. On the other hand, the processors were buying farm grade pepper. As the materials are not moving out the stock is being piled up, they pointed out. April contract on NCDEX shot up by Rs 427 a quintal on Friday to Rs 13,838. April contract on NMCE went up by Rs 347 a quintal to Rs13,400. The increase in other contracts was from Rs 382 to Rs 554 a quintal. The total open interest on NCDEX dropped by 775 tonnes to 28,103 tonnes. May declined by 199 tonnes to 13,703 tonnes while June moved up by 624 tonnes to 5,426 tonnes. On NMCE total open interest went up by 22 tonnes to 4,507 tonnes.

Centre Releases 38lt Sugar As FSQ

New Delhi: In a further bid to boost ex-factory realisations, the Centre has sanctioned 38 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar as the free sale quota (FSQ) for mills during the April-June quarter. For the same quarter of 2006, the FSQ allocation amounted to 43.25 lt. For April 2007, the FSQ has been fixed at 12 lt, which is below the 15.75 lt issued in April 2006. Even after including the 1.77 lt of levy sugar for the public distribution system, the total sugar available for consumption in the coming month, at 13.77 lt, is lower than the 16.56 lt for April 2006. The Government has also extended the validity period of the March FSQ release up to April 15, enabling mills to sell and dispatch the unsold quantity during this extended period.

Edible Oils Rate Gains In International Mkt

Mumbai: Edible oil prices improved in the international market as crude oil prices increased. In the past two weeks, prices of both palm and soy oils have increased by almost $25 to $30 per tonne in the international market. Non-food use of edible oils as raw material for bio-diesel, the new market for palm and soya oils, is keeping the anticipated demand strong. Edible oil prices were hoped to be driven mainly by the movement in prices of crude oil, demand from the consumption markets (India, China and EU) and the bio-diesel economics. Palm prices have been increasing at a faster pace compared to soya oil. In the international market, crude palm oil was quoted at $597 per tonne f.o.b. (free on board) higher than soya oil prices at $554 per tonne f.o.b.
Domestic RBD palmolein prices are ruling at Rs 444 per 10 kg, while refined soya oil prices are a tad higher at Rs 451 per 10 kg. Malaysians are determined to take palm rates to Malaysian ringgit (MYR) 2,400 per tonne (currently MYR 2,045 ). Fairly new demand from US imports was around 2 lakh tonnes of palm oil every month due to problems over trans fatty acid in soya oil and for energy purposes too. With the strong boost in ethanol demand, there are expectations of shift in the acreage from soya to corn. Palm and soya oil prices were at a peak for the current oil year at Rs 460 per 10 kg in January 2007.

AP Govt Expecting For Marginal Increase In Foodgrain Production

Hyderabad: Notwithstanding a setback in kharif season, the Andhra Pradesh Government is hoping to register total foodgrain output of 174.72 lakh tonnes for 2006-07 against 169.50 lakh tonnes last year. The State recorded marginal growth in the kharif season, with the total food grain production pegged at 94.11 lakh tonnes (93.83 lakh tonnes). Estimates for paddy for the whole year are placed at 126.64 lakh tonnes (117.04 lakh tonnes). The rabi season proved to be handy for the State to recoup. She pegged the rabi contribution at 80.61 lakh tonnes during the year against 75.67 lakh tonnes last year. The estimations for oil seeds were put at 15.73 lakh tonnes (20.42 lakh tonnes). Overall, the groundnut estimations for the year is put at 8.54 lakh tonnes, lower from 13.66 lakh tonnes.
The Department has banned Mahyco Seeds chilli seed variety, Tejaswini, in Khammam district for three years after farmers complained of its poor performance in some mandals. The Agriculture Ministry had initiated 107 cases with regard to spurious seeds in 2006-07. Also, the Government urged 13 companies, against whom 26 complaints were received, to pay compensation for selling seeds that were non-adaptable, genetically impure and susceptible to viruses in some districts. The list included Mahyco Seeds, Namdhari Seeds, Ankur Seeds and Vishal Seeds. These companies were urged to pay a total compensation of Rs 3.62 crore for varied reasons. Of this, Mahyco Seeds alone was asked to pay about Rs 2 crore. However, these companies approached the High Court challenging the Department's contention.

Chana Futures Increase

Mumbai: Anticipation of crop damage due to recent rains in the North pushed chana futures increase by 2.47 per cent to Rs 2,364 per quintal on March 28. Mustard seed futures gained 2.13 per cent to Rs 414 per 20 kg on lower production estimate of 60 lakh tonnes this year against 67 lakh tonnes last year. Turmeric futures increased by 1.84 per cent to Rs 2,319 per quintal as farmers and stockists hold back goods in anticipation of a price increase. Strong international markets boosted soy oil futures by 1.47 per cent to Rs 465 per 10 kg. On MCX, potato Tarkeshwar futures increased 2.74 per cent to Rs 591 per quintal. NCDEX recorded a turnover of Rs 3,486 crore up to 5 p.m. (Rs 3,627 crore at 11.30 p.m.) on 1,03,470 trades (1,12,460).

Rubber Witnesses Up Trend

Kottayam: Physical rubber prices improved on March 27. RSS 4 recovered to Rs 94 a kg from Rs 93.50 and Rs 93.75, respectively at Kottayam and Kochi. The April contract for RSS 4 moved down to Rs 94 from Rs 94.45 a kg on MCX. On NMCE, the April contract for the grade was slightly better at Rs 93.70 (93.59), while the remaining contracts completed in the red. The May contract weakened to Rs 97.30 (97.59), June to Rs 100.30 (100.58) and July contract to Rs 101.90 (102.72) a kg for RSS 4. The open interest stood at 12,394 (12,506) tonnes with 4,725 tonnes in April, 5,266 tonnes in May, 1,973 tonnes in June and 430 tonnes in July. The volumes were 1,405 (2,796) tonnes. RSS 3 (spot) closed at Rs 100.14 against Rs 100.12 a kg at Bangkok. The April futures for the grade declined to 270.5 yen (Rs 98.64) from 271 yen a kg at TOCOM. Spot rubber rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 94 (93.50); RSS-5: 93 (92.50); Ungraded: 92 (91.50); ISNR 20: 92.50 (92) and Latex 60 per cent: 64.20 (64.20).

Coimbatore Tea Auction To Witness Higher Offerings

Coimbatore: Total offerings reached a high of 6.55 lakh kg at the Coimbatore tea auction on March 30. Leaf grades totalled 2.71 lakh kg and the rest was of the dust. The Orthodox leaf grades saw selective demand. Well-made Nilgiris teas quoted lower by Rs 3 to Rs 4 a kg, others suffered withdrawals. CIS exporters operated albeit selectively. Limited quantities of Orthodox dust were picked at irregular levels. Selected brighter liquoring teas saw some demand the rest remained barely steady. There were export enquiries for the medium/plainer bolder grades, but were quoting Rs 2 lower. Internal buyers extended support on smaller brokens and fannings at market level. Exporters remained selective. There was fair demand for the CTC dust grades. AVT and Indco operated on good liquoring teas. The Orthodox highgrowns ranged between Rs 70 and Rs 75 a kg, while the best CTC dusts ranged between Rs 59 and Rs 66.

Bombay Burmah Teas Receives 4 Awards

Kochi: The nine-member international jury of the Third Edition of the Golden Leaf India Awards: Southern Tea Competition has chose 20 estates for the 40 awards here. Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd topped with four awards followed by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (three), Vigneshwar Estate Tea Factory and Hittakkal Estate Tea Factory (two each) while other estates won one each. The international jury comprising prominent tea buyers from major importing countries and renowned tea connoisseurs evaluated the short listed teas, which were subjected to first level of screening and the second level being technical analysis for pesticide residues and heavy metals.
The international jury included: Prof. Randy Altman, World Tea & Coffee, USA; Ms Penny Kelly, Typhoo Tea Ltd, UK; Mr Alexey Shvetsov, Orimi Trade Ltd, Russia; Mr Bryan Baptist, Ceylon Tea Brokers Ltd, Sri Lanka; Mr Mohsin M. Saify, Tapal Tea Pvt Ltd, Pakistan; Mr Sanjay Sethi, Dubai Tea Trading Centre, UAE; Mr Edward Foster, Thompson Lloyd & Ewart Ltd UK; Mr Paul Sandys, Unilever, Kolkata; and Mr Azam Monem, Williamson Magor, Kolkata. Southern Tea Competition is a joint initiative of The United Planters' Association of Southern India and the Tea Board.

Wheat Harvest Likely To Reach 72 Mt Says Pawar

Ahmedabad: Dispelling doubts, the Union Agriculture and Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, has said the country is set to harvest about 72 million tonnes of wheat this year compared to 68 mt last year. They would have 2.50 lakh tonnes of sugar as against our requirement of 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes. But they still have a long way to go on the food security front. Mr Pawar said the shortage of pulses and oilseeds since the last couple of years had forced the Government to think of importing these commodities. The area under groundnut in Gujarat has been reduced and that of cotton increased. Lauding the efforts made by the State Governments in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, among others, Mr Pawar stressed upon the urgent need to fortify food grains and other articles with micronutrients for distribution to those below the poverty line through the public distribution system.

Rubber Witnesses Up Trend

Kottayam: Spot rubber increased sharply on March 23. Sheet rubber RSS 4 increased to Rs 93 from Rs 90 a kg at Kottayam and Kochi. The under current was extremely bullish as covering groups and buyers from the futures markets turned aggressive. The rubber futures maintained to make handsome gains in leading commodity exchanges. On MCX, the April contract was traded at Rs 95.16 against Rs 94.33 a kg for RSS 4. The grade improved at its April contract to Rs 94.23 (92.65), May Rs 98.25 (96.93), June Rs 101.43 (99.96) and July to Rs 103.35 (101.78) a kg on NMCE. The volumes totalled 3,490 (3,031) tonnes. The April futures for RSS 3 closed at 268.2 yen (Rs 99.22) against 267.9 yen a kg at TOCOM. Spot rubber prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 93 (90); RSS-5: 92.50 (89.50); Ungraded: 91.50 (88.50); ISNR 20: 92 (89) and Latex 60 per cent: 64.20 (64.20).

Tea Board Delegation To Visit Pak In April

Kochi: A delegation from the Tea Board is to leave for Cairo on March 22, for finalising the opening of a Tea Marketing Centre in the Egyptian capital. The delegation will have members from Upasi and India Tea Trade Association apart from the Tea Board. Another Tea Board delegation will be visiting Pakistan from April 14-15 for talks with its counterparts there on movement of tea on land-route via the Wagah boarder. The Tea Board is identifying new markets for tea and special thrust is being given to Iran, Egypt and Pakistan. Iraq is now the single largest market for Indian teas. Exports to Russia have remained to fall following the change in consumer preference of late for orthodox tea from CTC teas. Currently the output of orthodox tea in the country was only 10 per cent of the total output and given the growing demand for it they have decided to have a five-year plan to increase the output of orthodox tea from 80 mkg to 120 mkg.

Tyre Manufacturers Want Prohibition On Rubber Futures

Chennai: Tyre manufacturers said that rubber futures are not helping in price discovery and risk management, and they have demanded a ban on forward trading of the commodity. In a letter to the Commerce, Industry and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretaries, the Automotive Tyre Manufactuers Association (ATMA) has said the demand for ban on rubber futures is no different from the bar imposed by the Centre on forward trading in urad, tur, rice and wheat. The steep increase in the rate of rubber has imposed severe financial burden on the tyre industry. The wild future quotations in respect of rubber had gone beyond the basic objectives of future trading and resulted in spot rate getting distanced to cost plus reasonable profit to the grower.
The average market price of rubber during April 2006- February 2007 was Rs 95 per kg against what the Rubber Board had stated as a reasonable rate of Rs 70-80 a kg. It is important to note that the reasonable price for rubber at Rs 70-80 has been assessed by the Rubber Board Chairman as one of the unsaid mandate for the board to ensure that the grower gets his due share by way of cost plus reasonable return/profit. Though traded volumes are low, it creates an upward momentum and the physical trade looks upon the futures for market direction. Hence, spot rate increased immediately. This results in growers deciding to hold back their produce in the hope of getting even higher prices.

Wheat Prices Skyrocket In MP

In Madhya Pradesh, despite acute power shortage and fertiliser crisis, a hike in minimum support prices has led to a surge in wheat prices. The Madhya Pradesh government has directed its agencies to procure an additional 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat this year. Private players, including ITC, Cargill, Hind Lever and others procured 500,000 quintals roughly, according to the sources. Even though the state government has not embarked on supplementary wheat procurement through its agencies - Madhya Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation and Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation, -a good response to "Lok-1" variety has been reported in Vidisha, Sehore and Ashta mandis while Bhopal mandi has reportedly received a lukewarm response with a minimum of 2,000-3,000 quintals during the last one week. Lok-1 wheat prices were hovering at Rs 750-1,425 a quintal. The prices are likely to go up further since private sector atta makers are waiting for arrival of Sharbati variety of wheat which is rich in protein. Sharbati arrivals will begin at the end of this month or first week of April. Although all districts of the state grow wheat Ashta, Ganjbasoda, Indore, Dewas, Guna, Ashoknagar, Sehore, Vidisha and some parts of Raisen and Sagar districts are know for the high quality Sharbati wheat. The prices normally start from Rs 1400 per quintal even in open market and cross Rs 2000 per quintal. Last week prices of Sharbati variety prices touched a maximum of Rs 2210. During January this year the state government had admitted a fall in wheat production by 5-15 per cent from the targeted 90 lakh tonnes from 44 lakh hectare acreage.

Early Crop Likely To Affect Onion Prices

Onion prices are expected to witness further fall to Rs 5 a kg in the wake of fresh arrivals from Maharashtra, which have hit the market early this season. At present, onion prices are in the range of Rs 6.50-7.50 a kg at the Vashi APMC. Arrivals from Maharashtra begin around April 1 and continue throughout the month. This season, the arrivals have begun earlier, albeit in small quantity, and are estimated to continue till the last week of April. The supply is expected to exceed the demand, owing to a bumper crop this season. About 225 trucks, each laden with 12 tonne of onion, have been arriving at the Vashi APMC against the normal supply of 100-125 trucks. A section of traders is apprehensive over the continued supply of onion. They argued that farmers might not sell their produce at prices lower than their cost of cultivation, raising fears of a tight supply once onion dropped below Rs 5.50 a kg. The country shipped around 10.5 lakh tonne of onion as on March 5 and the export figures for the current financial year were likely to touch 11 lakh tonne, a 41 per cent increase over the last year's exports of 7.78 lakh tonne.

Oilseeds Production Down By 1.3 Mn Tn: Trade Body

New Delhi: Oilseeds production for the crop year ending June is projected at 22.67 million tonne, down from 23.97 million tonne a year ago, according to latest industry estimate released by Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade. Rabi output is projected at 9.52 million tonne, against 10.27 million tonne while Kharif output is estimated at 13.15 million tonne, against 13.70 million tonne. Kharif oilseeds crops are sown in June-July and harvested in October. Rabi oilseeds crops are sown in October-November and harvested in February. The latest advance estimate has revised the kharif oilseeds estimate upwards from an earlier estimate of 12.84 million tonne. Soybean June-July output is estimated at 7.66 million tonne, against 7.05 million tonne. The soybean estimate has been revised up by 400,000 tonne from the previous estimate, as the crop benefited from the rains in September.Mustard output is at 6.02 million tonne, against 6.77 million tonne. COOIT had earlier projected mustard output at 5.80 million tonne. Industry officials admitted there had been diversion of mustard acreage to wheat in Rajasthan. Groundnut estimate has been pegged at 5.4 million tonne, against 6.25 million tonne.

Indian Pepper Exports Decline

Kochi: Export order table of India is more or less blank for February and March as the country is no more an attractive destination. The exports have been badly hit due to the stoppage of subsidies as it had led to a big leap in business in 2006. The government had stopped the scheme on February 2 as the target of 20,000 tonne had been achieved. Thanks to this, India is no more a preferred destination on the price front as Vietnam has turned aggressive in the export market. As the plucking of pepper is in full swing, Vietnam has slashed their prices to $2400-2300 per tonne for 500 gm/l. Vietnam traders have quoted ASTA at $2550, while India is currently quoting at $2800 per tonne. Experts said importing nations, including USA, are not showing much interest in Vietnam as they expect prices to come down further as season progresses. Some feel the price would go down to $2000. Production in Vietnam will be more than 100,000 tonne and as season progresses further their quotations will be further down. Value added manufacturers from India are also placing orders in Vietnam thanks to advantage on the price front. In February, India was the third largest importer from Vietnam with 548 tonne. Indonesia is offering $2800 per tonne, while Brazil's price levels are the same with Vietnam. But Brazil has a stock of 6000 tonne. Meanwhile Indian markets are facing a serious threat from Sri Lanka also as the period of maximum import cap of 2500 tonne will end by March 31. From April onwards, Lankan pepper may pour into the Indian market. Sri Lanka is offering pepper at $ 2500 C&F to India and a large quantum of their total production will be exported to India. It is estimated that Karnataka will have a crop size of 18,000 -20,000 tonne, but some traders estimate the size at 15,000 tonne. But the course of the market will depend mostly on the movement of prices in futures market. According to leading traders, the huge stock position in exchanges would be harmful to the market as a few investors had piled up the stock. The instability in futures trading also affects the domestic market to adopt a clear route. If there is heavy sell off in the futures trading owing to changes in the global market, it might be disastrous for the Indian black pepper market.

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.