Spices Board for alert on cardamom import

Inaccurate reports of huge cardamom imports tend to affect prices of the produce, the Spices Board has complained.

At the same time, it has asked the customs department to be vigilant on illegal import through Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is believed such import is high, for low-priced cardamom from Guatemala in Latin America, the world's largest producer-exporter, are widely sold in north Indian markets.

India's annual production is 11,000-13,000 tonnes; Guatemala's is 30,000 tonnes.

The Board said import through official channels between June 2012 and February this year was only about 200 tonnes, just 2.3 per cent of the supply. Auction prices here, it said, were steady at about Rs 700 a kg, after fluctuating between Rs 696 a kg and Rs 787 a kg between June 2012 and January this year.

It has warned growers and traders to pay no heed to reports of large import, saying these depress prices or lead to wide fluctuations.

Farmers told Business Standard they should get at least Rs 1,000 a kg, as cost of production has risen substantially in a year, especially the price of fertiliser and labour. They say the reported rise in smuggling through the northeast border is a big concern, as had happened in 2005-06, when the average local price had dropped below Rs 400 a kg.