Cardamom firm

COMMODITY SPIKES

The cardamom tender opened Rs 40 higher for the current season at Rs 580-590 a kg for the hand-picked variety and Rs 480 a kg for the 7 mm variety in Mumbai, owing to low arrivals of the newly harvested crop. Last year's stocks have been exhausted due to good local and seasonal demand, ahead of Ramadan.

In the domestic physical market, the poor quality cardamom is sold between Rs 450 and Rs 500 a kg. The total crop for the current year is estimated at 11,000 tonnes as against 12,500 tonnes last year.

Meanwhile, cardamom prices on the MCX remained volatile, with the September contract closing today at Rs 538 a kg against the previous day's Rs 533 a kg. The MCX has eased the quality norms following a poor crop this year.