Chilli futures to surge

COMMODITY SPIKES

Chilli futures, which firmed up last week, are expected to strengthen further next week on the back of declining arrivals and demand from Bangladesh. Moreover, Guntur market will remain closed from the next week till the first week of June, thus pushing the prices up.

Last week, spot prices firmed up by Rs 200 a quintal, which market sources said may go up further by another Rs 300 a quintal.

Spot rates in the Guntur market are currently ranging between Rs 3,200 and Rs 4,200 a quintal. On the futures market, the June contract closed at Rs 5,210 a quintal on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), up 2.64 per cent against the previous week's close of Rs 5,076.

Chana on recovery path

Chana futures regained some ground last week and managed to remain above Rs 2,300 a quintal. In the previous week, the futures prices slumped to Rs 2,260. According to commodity analysts, the movement in the chana market was controlled by the arrivals from Rajasthan.

The week showed declining trend in arrivals in Bikaner and, in the coming weeks, arrivals are likely to drop further. Rajasthan's output is hovering around 9 lakh tonnes. "We expect a further recovery of Rs 50-60 a quintal in the following week, owing to poor arrivals," said an analyst with Agriwatch Commodities. Last week saw daily arrivals coming down to 6,000-7,000 bags (each of 100 kg) compared with 10,000-12,000 bags in the previous week.