Pepper Future Market Dropped On Selling Pressure - Feb 26, 2009

On Tuesday, pepper future market dropped sharply on selling pressure. There was fear of over supply with imported pepper on reports that there may be higher time limit to hold back imported pepper under advance licence and on reported easing of Vietnam pepper. Many people become panic on concerns that heavy import will depress the domestic market if the Government relaxed the existing restrictions on the time limit for value addition.

March contract on NCDEX fell by Rs 433 a quintal to close at Rs 10,400 while that of April and May dropped by Rs 413 and Rs 434 respectively to close at Rs 10,358 and Rs 10,431 a quintal.

Sugar Prices Fell On The Domestic Commodity Exchange - Feb 26, 2009

Sugar prices on the domestic commodity exchange hit lower limit of 3% on the back of stock limit announcement on February 23. However stocks of sugar companies were down by 4.5% and 9% on Tuesday.

Commodity markets including sugar were closed on Monday for the Mahashivaratri festival. On NCDEX, the most active March contract closed down 3% at Rs 2,116 per quintal after making a low at Rs 2,101.

Government on Monday decided to impose limitations for a period of four months on the quantity of sugar a trader can hold to check the rising prices. This one of the measures that the government is taking to verify the prices that is up by 25% in past few months to Rs 2,300 per quintal level from Rs 1,800 in October.

Physical Rubber Shows Mixed Trend - Feb 25, 2009

On Monday, the physical rubber prices showed a mixed trend. Ungraded rubber and RSS 5 were the gainers of the day, which improved by 50 paise on dispersed transactions. Sheet rubber RSS 4 closed flat at Rs 71.50 a kg as on the previous weekend. The volumes were low. The domestic rubber futures remained closed on account of Maha Sivarathri on NMCE.

The rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange finished marginally higher in all distant contracts on Monday. The February 2009 contract expired flat drawing a final price of 123.6 yen as on last Friday.

The February contract for RSS 4 closed at 123.6 (123.6) (Rs 64.97), March at 127.6 (126.4), April at 129.3 (129), May at 132.1 (130.4), June at 133.1 (132.1) and July at 135.9 (134.2) a kg on TOCOM.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 71.50 (71.50); RSS-5: 70.50 (70); ungraded: 69.50 (69); ISNR 20: 68 (68) and latex 60 per cent: 58 (58).

High Gold Prices Hit Jewellery Business - Feb 24, 2009

Gleam of gold is unable to bring any respite and the jewellery sales have been hit despite a busy marriage season. The customers are cautious of buying at existing high prices and they anticipate rates to fall, leading jewellers said on Feb 23. The business has come down by as much as 80 per cent from the usual volume. There is very little movement in terms of jewellery sales due the prevailing high prices Haresh Soni of Delhi-based Premji Valji Jewellers said.

On Feb 23, Gold prices ruled at Rs 15,600 per 10 gram. In the overseas market it was $984 dollars an ounce (Hong Kong). The metal has set an all-time high of Rs 15,800 during intra-day on last Thursday and analysts and banks predict it to breach Rs 16,000 per 10 gram.

Expectations of ease sin prices are also keeping the customers away from jewellery shops. The marriage season or the Valentines Day, during which sales normally are brisk, did not help much this year, Soni added. Rakesh Anand, a jeweller, said it will be business as usual soon as this is only a temporary phase. This is a temporary phase and things should start stabilizing in a month or two. At the movement, people are more interested in selling off their old jewelleries for better returns, Anand said. Once the current economic situation stabilises, gold prices will settle down bringing in good business for the sector, Minawala added.

After the bull run in the last few trading sessions, gold fell on reduced offtake by retailers and jewellery fabricators, expecting the metal to go further down. A weakening trend in international markets, which normally set prices here, further fuelled the downtrend. The gold in Hong Kong traded around 994 dollar an ounce, after touching a low of 984 dollar.

Prices Of Cardamom Remain At The Same Level - Feb 24, 2009

The prices of cardamom remain at the same level with marginal fluctuations during the week at auctions held in Kerala as well as Tamil Nadu. The individual average price, which remained almost steady till February 12, grew to Rs 534.13 on February 17 to fall to Rs 511 on Feb 18 and Rs 505.91 on Feb 19.

The total arrivals between February 15 to February 19 stood at 208 tonnes. The STCL auction at Bodinayakannur on Feb 19 had the highest arrival of 54 tonnes, of which 52 tonnes were sold out. The maximum price was Rs 675.50 a kg and the minimum Rs 235.50.

However, on Wednesday, the arrivals were at 28 tonnes at the Vandanmettu CPMC auction. The maximum price was Rs 658 a kg and minimum Rs 310 a kg and average price was Rs 511. The prices of graded varieties were

During the current season, the total arrivals up to February 19 stood at 6,878 tonnes as well as sales at 6,455 tonnes as compared to 3,710 tonnes and 3,456 tonnes respectively in the same period last season. However, the weighted average price as on February 19 was at Rs 519.05 a kg as compared to Rs 482.77 a kg on the same day last year.

Demand For Indian Tea Raised In Egypt - Feb 23, 2009

Egypt is probable to import about 20,000 tonnes of tea from India this year, which will be 70 per cent higherfrom the previous year.

Last year, Egypt imported about 12,000 tonnes from India. With India reducing import duty from 4 per cent to 2 per cent, tea exports from the country has increased, Shawky Dlama, Chief of Import sector and board member El Nasr Export & Import company told reporters on the sidelines of the India International Tea Convention.

Egypt is importing from Kenya also, Dlama, who is leading a 10-member delegation to India, said. The delegation would be visiting South Indian and North Indian tea plantations. India is also planning to open a representative office in Egypt soon.

The average per capital consumption is 75,000 to 78,000 tonnes a year. Egyptian government alone imports 20,000-25,000 tonnes for ration card consumers from Kenya. The private sector imports 53,000 to55,000 tonnes.

Domestic Turmeric Prices Dropped - Feb 20, 2009

On Wednesday, the domestic turmeric prices dropped by 2 per cent to hit the lower circuit in futures trading. The drop was due to the reduction in the positions by the traders affected by high arrivals in spot markets.

Profit-taking at higher levels along with weak demand in the physical markets also contributed to some pressure on the spice prices at the futures market.

Turmeric for the most-active April contract tumbled two per cent to hit lower circuit at Rs 4,208 per quintal on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange. The contract clocked business turnover of 14,640 lots. Similarly, May contract also moved up by 2 per cent to Rs 4,268 per quintal in a turnover of 3,280 lots.

Coffee Sector Is Unaffected By The Economic Crises - Feb 20, 2009

The coffee sector is likely to remain unaffected by the economic crises that has been shaking up the global business so far. Even in current market condition, coffee prices have shown signs of recovery after falling below $1/lb in early December, with the ICO composite indicator price standing at 112.02 cents/lb on January 30, compared to an average of 126.69 cents/lb in September 2008, according to ICO sources.

Till now the Indian coffee sector ahas not experienced the hit of the current economic recession and according to Mr Anil Kumar Bhandari, former President of UPASI, it is "unlikely to make any material difference as only 20-25 per cent of Indian coffee output is consumed in the country".

The likely fall in global output in 2009-10 coupled with the marginal annual growth in consumption, the prices are expected to rule firm this year, he said. The coffee output is likely to drop by around six per cent from the post blossom estimate for 2008-09 season of 2,93,000 tonnes, he added.

The total Indian exports from January to February 12 dropped by 2,331 tonnes to 19,292 tonnes including 4,546 instant coffee from 21,623 tonnes including 8,095 tonnes of instant.

Vanilla Industry May Not Witness A Price Change - Feb 18, 2009

The vanilla industry may not witness a price change at least till the middle of 2010 owing to the existing vanilla inventories in the global market along with the current economic slowdown. This opinion emerged at a technical session during the national seminar on vanilla, organized by the Vanilla Growers' Association of India, here.

Dr R. Mahendran, Managing Director of the Pollachi-based Eurovanille India Pvt Ltd, while speaking on the topic export market for Indian vanilla said the vanilla price will stay at the current level. What we are now facing is not the fall in price. There is fall in the moment in volume.

He also said that the global market recession has also led to the fall in the consumption in countries such as US. There may be stagnation till 2010 and in 2011, the things might improve. However, he said India's vanilla industry is set to grow as the global industry is looking at India as an alternative.

Physical Rubber Prices Ended higher - Feb 17, 2009

On Monday, the physical rubber prices ended higher. According to sources, the prices were firm on covering purchases as the inflow of the raw material was unexpectedly low. The market made gains on improved demand. Sheet rubber moved up to Rs 68 from Rs 67.50 a kg of the end of last week. The volumes were low. The March futures for RSS 4 finished at Rs 69.15 (68.61), April at Rs 71 (70.22), May at Rs 71.80 (71.03) and June at Rs 72.33 (72.40) a kg on National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE).

Rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange maintained strength on short covering. The February contract for RSS 3 downed the shutters at ¥133.2 (133) (Rs 70.94) along with March at ¥135.5 (136.1), April at ¥137.9 (138.3), May at ¥139.5 (140.1), June at ¥141.3 (141.5) and July at ¥143.6 (143.6) a kg on TOCOM. RSS 3 (spot) firmed up to Rs 73.65 (73.30) a kg at Bangkok.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 68 (67.50); RSS-5: 67 (66); ungraded: 65.75 (65); ISNR 20: 65.50 (65) and latex 60 per cent: 57.50 (57).

Tea Prices Gain In Kochi Sale - Feb 17, 2009

The drop in arrivals persistent at the Kochi tea auction that is leading to further upward movement in prices. This was most seen in the leaf tea as arrivals plunged nearly 20 per cent and prices spurted considerably.

Dust prices moved also up more reasonably. There was lower enquiry from exporters while major blenders were more active in dust grades. There was 8.56 lakh kg of dust tea on auction where CTC market remained fully to firm to dearer. Leaf grades witnessed good general demand from exporters while CTC grades were absorbed by interstate buyers. Orthodox high grown dust remained stable while medium orthodox prices moved up. Best CTC grades quoted Rs 87-120, medium CTC was at Rs 77-87 and below medium fetched Rs 66-76.

Pepper Futures Continue To Fall - Feb 13, 2009

The pepper futures continued its fall on Feb 12 on the back of liquidation as well as sell calls by technical analysts of brokers. On NCDEX, the Feb contract tumbled by Rs 246 to Rs11,080 a quintal along with this, March and April fell by Rs 232 and Rs 210 respectively to Rs10,918 and Rs10,945 a quintal.

The total turnover on NCEX fell by 844 tonnes to 4,420 tonnes. The total net open position (NOP) slipped by 107 tonnes to 7,918 tonnes. The spot prices fell by Rs 200 to Rs 10,800 (un-garbled) and Rs11,300 (MG 1) a quintal on Feb 12.

Retail Price Of Mustard Oil May Slip Lower - Feb 13, 2009

Retail price of mustard oil may slip lower if the higher crop estimates from the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) are taken into account. A high-level delegation from SEA traveled around the major rapeseed/mustard growing districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan has estimated India's output this rabi (winter) season to be around 64 lakh tonne against 45.9 lakh tonne in oil year (which runs from October-September) 2007-08.

According to the estimation of the Union agriculture ministry, the area of cultivation of the rapeseed/mustard in India has risen by 12.6% on year-on-year basis touch 66.5 lakh hectare, during the ongoing rabi. While the estimates would only be confirmed by trade later next month, analysts believe that if the output touches around 64 lakh tonne, the prices of mustard oil could fall easily by 5-10%.

The most of the consumption of mustard oil is restricted to North India and east particularly West Bengal. Apart from its use as a cooking medium, mustard oil is also used for preparation of hydrogenated fats (vanaspati). The residue (oilmeal) is used for making poultry/animal feed.

The MSP announced for mustard has been increased to Rs 1,830 per quintal from Rs 1,800 per quintal in 2007-08. However, due to a fall in palm oil prices, there is bound to be pressure even on rapeseed/ mustard oil prices, an analyst said. The record output comes on the heels of a rise in acreage in Rajasthan, which accounts for nearly 46% of the country's rapeseed/ mustard crop. Rapeseed/mustard which is a winter (rabi) crop with an annual output of around 60-65 lakh tonne. During 2007-08 due to the pro-longed spell of winter, the country's rapeseed production slipped to around 50 lakh tonne.

Maharashtra Farmers Are Harvesting A Cash Crop - Feb 12, 2009

In Maharashtra farmers are harvesting a cash crop due to the highest ever minimum support price (MSP) of the crop (cotton) and a decent yield this season. Various state-owned procurement agencies are in the process of paying about Rs 4,000-crore to cotton growers in Maharashtra for a purchase of 185 lakh quintals of cotton at the MSP of between Rs 2,700-2,850 per quintal.

The Congress-led governments at the Centre and in the state consider the cash bonus along with recent farm debt-waiver would pay them rich dividends in elections. The state-owned procurement agencies have already spent about Rs 2,800-crore on cotton purchase. A record high MSP has come as a huge relief for cotton farmers hit by agrarian crisis and helped them with some ready cash flow. The agrarian crisis is certainly there but a good price for cotton and debt-waiver has offered some relief, a senior minister in the state cabinet said.

India Reported Fall In Coffee Exports - Feb 10, 2009

India reported fall in coffee exports by 4.30 per cent during 2008, as compared to the previous calendar year, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). However, the world's coffee exports increased slightly to 96.62 million bags in 2008. Shipments from big exporting countries like Vietnam, Colombia, India and Mexico dropped up to 40 per cent during the last
India exported 31,18,939 bags of coffee, lower by 4.30 per cent from the previous year. Exports from Vietnam slipped by 10 per cent to 16 million bags and quite the reverse Brazil's exports went up by 4 per cent to 29.24 million bags in 2008. One bag contains 60 kg of coffee.

Last year, total global exports of Arabica stood at 63.4 million bags as compared to 62.4 million bags in 2007, whereas Robusta exports amounted to 33.2 million bags compared to 34.0 million bags. According to the ICO, global coffee production is stood at 134.2 million bags in 2008-09, up by 15.45 per cent from the previous year.

Pepper Futures Market Turned Higher - Feb 10, 2009

On Monday, pepper futures market turned higher with prices increasing to Rs 118.19 per kg for the February contract from the level of Rs 116.24 per kg of Saturday closing.

Weak demand and profit taking had led to a drop in prices last week in the futures market. However, for the March contract, the prices moved up to Rs 116.71 per kg on Monday from Rs 114.61 per kg on Saturday. In the spot market, the market closed at Rs 119 per kg for garbled pepper on Monday. It stood at Rs 118 per kg on Saturday.

Indian pepper prices have eased in the international market due to the fresh supplies from major markets like Vietnam ready to hit the market. Prices which stood at US $ 2700 per tonne last week have come down to $ 2575 per tonne.

Though it is still not fully active in the market, Vietnam is said to have offered 550 GL grade at $ 2180 per tonne. Brazil's price stood at $ 2150 per tonne while Indonesian offer is at around $ 2200 per tonne. It is pointed out that due to the recessionary conditions in the market no origin would hold on to its stocks. Most of the production would be off-loaded into the market, sources pointed out.

Lower Output Support Soyabean - Feb 9, 2009

Soyabean process in the international market is increasing on account of lower than estimated supplies from South America and rising demand from china. Dry weather conditions in South America have affected the soyabean crop. Flaring international prices has also impacted the domestic commodity exchange. Also, export demand for Indian soyameal and thin arrival in domestic market ahs further supported the prices.

On NCDEX, the most active March contract has moved up to Rs 2,399 per quintal level from low levels at Rs 2,235. On Friday the contract moved up by 3.5% in the day. The price ahs continuously jumped since December and touched a high of Rs 2,430. Even the open interest has showed a significant increase from 382,990 last week to current levels at 532,590. The open interest in January was 164,670 and in December it was 27,510.

The Exports Of Oilmeal Fell - Feb 6, 2009

The exports of Oilmeal fell to 5.63 lakh tonnes in January from 8.39 lakh tonnes (lt) during the same period a year ago, according to the Solvent Extractors Association of India. The exports fell month-on-month too compared with December exports of 7.08 lt. This fall was due to poor demand and the emergence of South America as a serious competitor in the global markets.

On the other hand, the shipments grew 21 per cent at 46.16 lt up to January as compared to 38.25 lt during the same period a year ago mainly due to rise in soyameal and rapeseed meal. The exports of Soyameal in January was up at 5.21 lt as against December's 6.55 lt. The shipments during the April-January period are up at 35.77 lt against 26.80 lt. The Rapeseed meal exports increased to 7.30 lt from 6.91 lt during the period. The exports of groundnut meal, rice bran extraction and castorseed meal fell during the review period. Shipment of groundnut meal slipped to 32,733 tonnes from 44,975 tonnes along with rice bran extraction to 1.05 lt from 1.55 lt and castorseed meal to 1.71 lt from 2.53 lt.

The Solvent Extractors Association said realisation from the exports, too, slipped as the average prices of oilmeals in the global market slid in January. In line with this, the soyameal's average price dropped 25 per cent and rapeseed meal by 28 per cent, groundnut meal 33 per cent, rice bran extraction 17 per cent and castorseed meal 48 per cent. However, soyameal prices in January were up as compared with that of October, November and December as the market feared lower crop in Argentina.