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| Jeera supply surges as farmers rush to cash in on higher prices | |
| Kalpesh Damor / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad March 19, 2009, 0:06 IST | |
Jeera (cuminseed) supply in Gujarat has gone up sharply as the farmers are offloading their stocks in order to cash in on the high prices of the commodity currently. Arrival of the new jeera crop in the state has jumped from around 7,000-8,000 bags in march last year to nearly 20,000-21,000 bags (one bag weighing 55 kg) this month.
According to market players, the figure is unprecedented as arrivals tend to pick up by the end of March or early April. “Past couple of days have seen a dramatic surge in arrivals. I have never seen so much of new crop coming in March”, said BK Patel, a trader from Rajkot.
Citing reasons for the increased arrivals, traders said that the farmers are rushing to cash in on higher prices of jeera in the spot market. “Currently, jeera prices are in the range of Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,300 per 20 kg, depending upon the quality. Prevailing prices are Rs 300 to Rs 400 lower than the price level in the same period last year”, said Arvind Patel, an Unjha-based jeera trader.
“The prices of cotton and groundnut saw price reduction from the peak level this Rabi season. At present, jeera market has seen some demand from domestic players. At a time when jeera output is projected to be lower, farmers would not like to hold the stock. Instead, they are selling to get maximum gain from the firm prices”, said BK Patel.
On the other hand, jeera export is likely to come down this year due to the economic slowdown. Jeera production was around 30-31 lakh bags last year and the carry forward stock was 10-12 lakh bags. Overall, 35-36 lakh bags were traded in 2007-08, which also include 10-12 lakh bags of exports.
Despite the surge in jeera acreage during this rabi season, the output is projected to decline to 25 lakh bags on account of the erratic weather conditions. Some players even estimate that the production is unlikely to cross the 22-lakh bags mark. The carry forward stock this year is around 5-7 lakh bags. Jeera traders also expect the prices to come down if the arrivals continue to be on the higher side.
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