Shortage of pepper sees prices outpace all spices

Low carry-forward stocks and lower output this season have made pepper outperform all other spices, with futures market galloping over 15 per cent. Meanwhile, prices in the physical markets witnessed a surge of over 10 per cent last fortnight. The shortage of pepper in the country, said traders and commodity analysts, will result in a firm scenario for the commodity this season.

Unfavourable weather conditions in the initial days of the crop, coupled with aging creepers of pepper being more prone to diseases have led to lower pepper production.

V J Kurien, chairman, Spices Board of India, said, “There is a shortage of pepper in the country with production falling from 80,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes over the last decade. Lower stocks and diseases in plants are a cause of concern. This season, the production is likely to be lesser than that of last year.” A part of the Ministry of Commerce, the board is the apex body for the export promotion of Indian spices.

Trading sources and commodity experts are estimating production in the range of 42,000 to 45,000 tonnes this season. “The crop is delayed and the current stocks are at historic lows, around 8,000 tonnes. This has made fundamentals of the commodity strong. The arrival gains momentum during January-February. However, presently, the arrival is to the tune of 15-20 tonnes a day, said Sudha Acharya, analyst at Agriwatch Commodities. During the previous season, the stocks stood around 15,000 tonnes during the same period, she added.

A leading Kochi-based exporter, who did not want to be named, said, “Since the country does not have enough pepper, the exports won’t continue for long. On the contrary, we will have to import from countries like Brazil and Vietnam for our domestic requirement.” He put the current stocks in the country around 7,000 tonnes. The domestic consumption in the country is around 40,000-45,000 tonnes in a year.

A pepper plant delivers for a maximum of 12 years. “Now, a majority of creepers are older than this and are more prone to diseases,” said a spices expert at Angel Commodities.