Cardamom price stability urged: The Uttara Kannada district chamber of commerce, industry and agriculture has urged the commerce ministry to take measures to supply the required quantity of betelnut and cardamom to Nepal at international price to ensure stability of the price of Indian areca and cardamom. Chamber secretary VS Sonde, in a letter to commerce minister, Ramakrishna Hegde, said the reported large-scale smuggling operations of Malaya betelnut and Guatemala cardamom into India through Nepal was adversely affecting the stability of the prices of Indian betelnut and cardamom. He said Nepal had imported betelnut and cardamom from Malaya and Guatemala far beyond its actual consumption, and the excess passed on to Indian markets, affecting the stability of prices of Indian betelnuts and cardamom.

Black pepper and copra rule easy: Prices of black pepper and copra from upcountry centres eased onthe spices market in Mumbai on Friday on lack of support. Black pepper softened by Rs.100 to Rs.10,800/12,200 per quintal, while both copra Alleppey and copra Calicut declined by Rs.20 and Rs.50 to close at Rs.3560 and Rs.3600 per quintal respectively. Elsewhere, prices of other spices ended on a steadier note. Following are today's rate per quintal with previous in brackets: black pepper ready (Mumbai) Rs.10,800/12,200 (Rs.10,900/12,200), ginger bleached Rs.3200/3500 (Rs.3200/3500), ginger unbleached Rs.3400/3700 (Rs.3400/3700), copra office alleppey Rs.3560 (Rs.3580), copra office Calicut Rs.3600 (Rs.3650), copra Rajapur Mumbai Rs.4750 (Rs.4750) and Copra edible Mumbai Rs.3850 (Rs.3850).

Australian wheat market quiet: Australian milling wheat markets were quiet this week with prices slightly softer again, AWB Ltd said in its weekly grain market report. Most grades were trading at pool equivalent prices, it said. The Australian wheat harvest is notionally 60-70 per cent complete. Traders anticipatea "second harvest" in January from New South Wales (NSW), Queensland and the Wimmera (South Australia) and parts of Western Australia as growers grade out screenings in an attempt to upgrade their grain, it said. The sorghum market for new crop weakened this week in linewith US corn markets. Plantings of sorghum in northern NSW and Queensland point to a big sorghum crop from Australia this year. The canola harvest is nearly complete with oil content slightly down on pre-season expectations. Markets were also down slightly this week as the international weight on the soy complex spilled into other oil markets. There was very little domestic activity. Large amounts of faba beans in South Australia caused AWB's pool to be filled and closed. Frost has affected the Victorian crop, but there are plenty of lupins coming in from South Australia.

Sugar mill gate prices soften further: Sugar mill gate prices declined further on the primary sugar market in Delhi on Friday due to sluggish demand coupled withincreased arrivals. However, imported sugar ex amritsar delivery rose due to increased stockists offtake. Elsewhere, prices at whole-sale market maintained overnight levels due to some demand. In the mill gate section, sugar mawana dropped by Rs 15 to close at Rs 1450 while duty paid samali eased by Rs 5 at Rs 1330 per quintal respectively. Bulandshaher second grade also moved down by Rs 10 to finish at Rs 1280 while baghpat receded by Rs 5 at Rs 1330 per quintal respectively. Imported sugar ex-Amritsar delivery hardened by Rs 15 to conclude at Rs 1465 per quintal owing to fresh stockists offtake.

Punjab cotton price up: Prices of Punjab cotton rose on Friday amid limited new crop supplies and fresh demand from state-run agencies, dealers said. "Active buying by state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) pushed the prices up", one dealer said. In spot deals, Bengal-deshi ended Rs 5 higher at Rs 1,520/1,570 per maund (37.32 kg) and saw-ginned cotton rose by Rs 5-10 to Rs 1,695/1,820 per maund. Inthe Gujarat segment, longstaple Sankar-4 held steady at Rs 17,500/18,500 per candy (355.56 kg) for average grade and at Rs 19,500/20,300 per candy for superior grade.

Cotton prices rule steady: Prices of all select cotton varieties including Maharashtra remained unchanged at South India Cotton Association (Sica) on Friday. (prices per quintal in Rs): Bengal Deshi fine new crop (PJB) 4233, Wagad (Guj) NQ, V-797 (Guj) 4555, Jayadhar (KTK) 4668, J-34-New Crop (PJB) 4848, F-414 (TN) NQ, LRA-5166 (TN) 5343, H-4 New Crop (MP) 5399, LK-29 New Crop (AP) 5736, Shankar-6-New Crop (Guj) 5624, MCU-5 (AP) 6468, DCH-32-New Crop (KTK) 7241. Group-1 Maharashtra: (all new crops) MECH-1 YTL/AMT 5540, H-4 YTL/AMT 5540, LRA-5166 Nagpur/YTL 5258, NHH-44 YTL/AMT 5062, AK.H-4/AK.235 N Q, 1007 YTL/AMT 5118, AHH-468 YTL/AMT 5062.

Bullion declines on reduce offtake: Both the precious metals, silver and gold, declined on the bullion market on Friday in Delhi on reduced offtake against fresh arrivals and closed lower.Marketmen said likewise conditions in the upcountry market influenced the trading sentiment to some extent. They said fresh arrivals of gold against restricted buying activity also dampened the trading sentiment. Silver .999 (ready) declined by Rs.30 at Rs.7370 per kilo while silver weekly delivery dropped by Rs.80 as speculators were less interested to extend their positions. Silver coins also dropped by Rs.100 at Rs.10,500/10,600 per 100 pieces. Standard gold and ornaments were down by Rs.30 each at Rs.4310 and Rs.4160 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign lost Rs.50 at Rs.3750 per piece of eight gram.

Metal prices rule steady: Prices of base metals maintained an overall steady trend at the non-ferrous metals market in Mumbai on Friday. Dealers said trading was dull due to lack of fundamental news and prices ended on a steady note.Following are today's rates per kilo with previous in brackets.Copper scrap heavy Rs 99.00 (Rs 99.00), copper wire bar Rs 112.00 (Rs 112.00), copper utensils Rs 87.50 (Rs87.50), brass scrap Rs 78.25 (Rs 78.25), brass sheets cutting Rs 82.75 (Rs 82.75), aluminium ingots Rs 84.00 (Rs 84.00), aluminium Rs 62.50 (Rs 62.50), zinc Rs 70.00 (Rs 70.00), lead Rs 39.00 (Rs.39.00), tin Rs 370.00 (Rs 370.00) and nickel Rs 248.00 (Rs 248.00).

`Aluminium utensils are safe': The marketability of aluminium as a cookware has been severely affected because of a concerted misinformation campaign mounted by vested interests on its health effects, leading health experts have said.``There is no conclusive evidence to link aluminium to alzheimer's disease and other related disorders'', KSS Murthy, emeritus scientist from the Indian Institute of Science told reporters at a press conference organised by the Federation of All India Aluminium Utensil Manufacturers. He said eficiency of cooking depended on the conductivity of the vessel in which food was cooked and aluminium was a better conductor of heat compared to stainless steel. Dispelling fears about the use of aluminium utensils, Goel ofthe Base Hospital, Delhi cantonment said studies conducted on people living in areas where water had a relatively high aluminium content showed no traces of any debilitation.