Mullaperiyar dam row: Cardamom auctions stalled
Cardamom auction trading at all eight centres in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has come to a standstill for the last couple of weeks, paving way for a steep fall in the price of the spice. The Mullaperiyar dam issue created a tense situation on the Kerala and Tamil Nadu border that stalled the trading because of the absence of traders and brokers from Tamil Nadu. Though the major cardamom growing areas are in Idukki district of Kerala, most of the big traders and brokers are from Tamil Nadu.
There are four such auction centres in Idukki and another four in the Bodi area of Tamil Nadu. Cardamom growers are now in a dilemma, as they are not in a position to sell their produce.
Since December 5, trading has not taken place in any of the centres. The average price of cardamom fell to Rs 300-350 a kg from Rs 450 a few weeks before. Not only the fall in the price and absence of traders to procure cardamom is a threat to farmers here.
The harvesting season is ending now and most growers have good stock for sale. Farmers had stocked a majority of their produce due to low prices during the main harvesting months (June-September), expecting higher prices in the off-season. In the past three-four years, prices had increased in the off-season, so growers expected the same this time, too.
But the dam controversy has put them in a dilemma. A farmer told Business Standard neither the governments or the Spices Board were taking action to re-start trading.
“In the past two weeks nothing has happened. We are in real trouble now and are planning to stop growing cardamom,” he added.
To add to their troubles, a shortage of labourers has aggravated due to tension on the border of the two states. Around 20,000 Tamil labourers were working in cardamom plantations in Idukki district. Most of them have returned to Tamil Nadu on account of untoward incidents after the issue erupted.
There is a propaganda in Tamil Nadu by a section of the media that Tamil workers are being attacked in Kerala. So, most of the workers have gone home for safety. Since cardamom plantations are labour-intensive, absence of workers is a serious problem.
According to Reji Njallani, a farmer, growers are thinking of shifting to other crops like rubber that require less labour. Plucking of ripe cardamom and drying are highly labour-intensive and are important in maintaining quality of the product.
Roads between the two states, mainly the Kochi-Madurai national highway and the Kollam-Theni road, have been closed for two weeks due to law and order issues. So, transportation of spices and other products has become difficult. This has also led to smuggling of cardamom through the forest area.
PTI adds: In New Delhi, cardamom prices fell by Rs 6.90 to Rs 663.20 a kg in futures trade today as speculators booked profits amid subdued demand in the spot market.
Increased arrivals from producing regions also put pressure on cardamom prices in futures trade.