Cardamom price down on sluggish demand

The global financial crisis and sluggish demand have temporarily upset this season’s upbeat mood in the cardamom market, which edged for a slightly bearish mode in the last couple of weeks.

The average price of the spice has come down to Rs 560-580 per kg from the season’s peak of Rs 625 per kg that prevailed 15 days ago.

According to leading traders, the bearish trend is likely to continue till the end of this month. Reports of global economic slowdown have also influenced the market but not in a strong manner. Besides, traders say this is a common phenomenon during the Diwali season as, by this time, traders from North India have already stocked up to meet the festival demand.

The price of best quality 7 mm bold grade cardamom has decreased to Rs 750 per kg from the Rs 800 level a few days back. Market sources expect an improvement in demand by next month onwards.

Meanwhile, the latest production trend from the Idukki district of Kerala indicates improvement in the crop size in the next phases of harvesting, thanks to favourable climatic conditions. Normal rainfall during the last few weeks has been good for the cardamom plantations. The current humid atmosphere also favours good harvest. “Therefore, the next 2-3 months may partly compensate the early loss in production,” a grower said.

The total loss in production may contain at a level of 15-20 per cent against an earlier estimate of 30 per cent. The average annual production is in the range of 10,000-11,000 tonnes.