Kerala - Kattappana   

Cardamom arrival at auction centre increases

KATTAPPANA: With the Sales Tax Department taking stern steps to prevent smuggling and a favourable climate boosting production and harvest, the arrival of cardamom at auction centre has considerably increased during September-October, the prime season.

Sources in the Cardamom Growers Association (CGA) said that though there was a minor decline in total yield in the early crop and considerable decline in the second crop, the yield has steadily increased with a favourable climate. “This is the prime season and production has increased,” CGA secretary K.K. Devasia said on Sunday.

He said that with the introduction of high-yielding varieties, harvesting is conducted even during off-seasons.

The total production during this season has shown a marginal increase over earlier seasons and by November, the season will gradually end, he said.

Mr. Devasia said that the Sales Tax Department could effectively curb smuggling of cardamom to Tamil Nadu where the sales tax per kilogram is two per cent compared to the four per cent in the State. Also, for inter-State movement of cardamom, an additional two per cent of tax is levied, a reason why traders and producers resort to smuggling of cardamom to Tamil Nadu.

With the onset of prime season, smuggling too used to increase reducing the quantity of cardamom reaching the auction centres. “We are against smuggling of cardamom as it reduces the number of businessmen reaching the auction centre, thereby keeping the prices low in the absence of tight competition,” he said. Tax evasion causes loss to government also.

Though the average price of cardamom per kilogram has fallen from Rs.650 to Rs.550 recently, the auction centre is witnessing carry over of business, says data available with the auction centre at Vandanmedu.

Sources in a cardamom auction unit said that with the increase in the quantity of cardamom arriving in the auction centre, carry over of a day’s business to the next day is also witnessing.

From a maximum of 40,000 kg, the amount of cardamom reaching the auction centre each day has now gone up to 65,000 kg, they said.

It was only last year that the traditional style of auction was stopped and e-auction centres were started in Vandanmedu and Bodinaykanur in Tamil Nadu. When the Spices Board introduced e-auction, the traders had opposed it. However, the e-auction has proved to be transparent and effective in the long run, said the manager of an auction unit.

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