Govt to set up panels to resolve pepper futures imbroglio

Issues in the pepper market have aggravated in the recent past following actions by the Kochi office of the FSSAI

The Centre will set up two expert panels to look into the problems of the futures market in pepper and cardamom and put in place an effective mechanism to ensure the quality of products traded, said K.V. Thomas, Union minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

Issues in the pepper market have aggravated in the recent past following actions by the Kochi office of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The expert panels will look into the problem of production of pepper and cardamom, and also recommend solutions to address concerns of various stakeholders in the trading of these spices, said the minister at a meeting organised by the Forward Markets Commission at Kochi.

Around 8,000 tonnes of pepper stored in six NCDEX registered warehouses in Kochi were sealed by FSSAI on December 18 with traces of mineral oils — a banned chemical for use in the commodity. Traders use mineral oil for polishing to hide the commodity’s poor quality.

According to Biju Prabhakar, FSSAI Commissioner, based in Thiruvananthapuram, the Spices Board has agreed to get the sample tested for Rs 500 each, provided the samples are delivered to its office with an accumulative cost of Rs 12 lakh.

“We do not have the facility to test bulk samples and hence, we have written to NCDEX to bear the cost. Since the Spices Board has also agreed to request NCDEX for bearing this expenditure, the exchange must come forward to help early resolution of this issue,” Prabhakar said.

In case NCDEX does not agree to such investment, “we would go at government speed which may take longer time for solving it,” he added.

However, Thomas assured market participants that this particular issue would also be settled amicably.