Integrated Spice Scheme Key To Black Pepper Production

The country's performance as regards black pepper production leaves a lot to be desired.

India produces 300 kg per hectare as against 530 kg in Indonesia, 525 kg in Brazil and 2,945 kg per hectare in Malaysia.

The low productivity of black pepper is blamed on non-intensive cropping in terms of the number of vines planted per hectare, existence of uneconomic vines, severe pest and disease incidence and unpredictable climatic pattern.

These factors discourage the growers to make a sizeable investment for maintenance and improvement of pepper cultivation.

However, pepper exports has a bright future if proper measures are adopted to improve farm productivity.

 

To improve productivity and generating export surplus at a competitive cost, an integrated spice development scheme has been worked out.

The scheme entails supplies of quality planting programmes, field demonstration of crop care and plant protection.

Hitherto, the task of education, demonstration and infrastructural development has been considered as the state's responsibility.

Nevertheless, in the context of economic liberalisation policy, the industry has an important role to play in boosting growth in productivity through consultation and co-operation with the government agencies.

In fact, a few corporate houses' venture with foreign collaborators for establishing backward linkages or vertical integration with growers indicates the promise of devising suitable measures for education of growers in sound and modern agri methods and practices.

The move of major packers and grinders to establish direct contact with the sources of supply augurs well for the production of quality pepper geared to market oriented needs.

The need for increasing pepper production in the shortest possible time cannot be over-emphasised as the scenario in the past two years has been one of squeeze on supplies on account of shortfall in production.

Substantial and steady increase in pepper production is fundamental for the continued good performance of exports since the domestic market is growing at a rapid rate to absorb an increasing share of the internal production.

The upward trend in exports of black pepper has remained unabated, with shipments touching 6,350 tonnes from the Kochi port in April 1997.

The continued increase in exports of black pepper from India indicates a tight supply position in other countries.

It also reflects an anxiety of major packers and grinders to hold a safe inventory in anticipation of a shortfall in crop output in Indonesia and Malaysia.

According to sources, the new crop Sarawak has already started arriving in the market, albeit in limited quantity.

This signals a firm trend in the coming days.

Continued enquires, coupled with strong demand, compelled black pepper prices to maintain a firm-to-upward trend during April and May 1997.

The prices of garbled pepper in the Kochi spot market touched Rs 12,750 a quintal on May 31, 1997 against Rs 11,700 on May 2 and Rs 10,300 on April 1.

The International Commodity Exchange (ICE) at Kochi is now in its last lap to kick off futures trading in black pepper.

The regulatory framework of the same has been devised to achieve the objectives of investor protection, full segregation of customer funds, net owned fund norms for clearing members and prohibition of off-exchange trading.

According to India Pepper and Spice trade Association, the hopes of success of the international pepper futures contract are based on the fact that about 80 per cent of the commodity is produced in the Asian countries, viz Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India.

It is observed that where there is major regional production of an internationally traded commodity, there will be demand for derivatives to hedge against price volatility.