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Pepper prices soar, but production comes down

Production hit by rain and diseases

Kalpetta: After ruling low for the last four years, pepper prices have been spiralling, but the upswing has failed to cheer pepper farmers as there has been a marked fall in production.

According to market sources in Wayanad district, an area that contributes about 25 per cent of the country's pepper output, the price of MG1 pepper last week opened at Rs.13,300 a quintal and closed at Rs.9,600 a quintal in the week-end.

The upward trend is likely to remain as the NCDEX futures price of Wayanadan pepper — considered high in quality — has gone up from Rs.102 a kg to Rs.105.95 a kg over the week.

``This is the best price in the last four years. The prices had steadily come down to touch Rs.1,500 per quintal three years ago.

This year, the prices have been going up from mid-June and there has been a spurt in the last fortnight,'' K.P. Jacob, a leading trader in Meenangadi, said.

Besides the fall in arrivals from major production centres such as Wayanad and Idukki, the halt in diversion of Vietnamese pepper through Sri Lanka has also contributed to the rise in prices.

The internal production, on the other hand, is seriously hit by unseasonal rain, diseases such as root-wilt and slow-wilt afflicting pepper vines and gall wasps attack, farming sources said.

The International Pepper Community has forecast a sharp fall in production this year, expecting lower outputs from pepper countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador, trade circles said.

Kerala's pepper production is expected to come down by 30 per cent this year and the scenario will be the same in other pepper-producing States such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, market sources said.

According to farmers, the early onset of the southwest monsoon resulting in prevalence of high moisture content in the atmosphere would augur ill for pepper, known as `black gold' ever since the commodity attracted Arab and European merchants to Kerala centuries back.

The true beneficiaries of the uptrend in pepper prices are going to be affluent farmers and traders who were able to store the previous years' stock in anticipation of a better season, farming circles said.

A majority of pepper-growers in Wayanad and Idukki are small and marginal holders, who rely heavily on farm credits and who could not afford to wait for a season of high prices.

The traders are optimistic that the pepper price is likely to go up as the year advances since there would be greater demand in the upcountry and international markets due to the fall in supply.

An average 25,000 tonnes of pepper is required by the north Indian market alone and the experience has been that the demand would be higher when the winter is strong, sources said. — PTI

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