With arrivals continuing to be lower at the auction centres, cardamom prices breached the Rs 500 per kg mark at the recent auctions held in Kerala. Despite a shortage of 30-40 % in arrivals, the average auction prices were hovering around the Rs 400 per kg mark, leading to suspicion that imports were depressing prices. At the Sunday auction of Cardamom Processing Marketing Company (CPMC), Kumily, average price touched Rs 510 per kg only to drop back to Rs 500 on Wednesday?s auction. The arrivals at auction centres continue to be lower when compared to the pervious year, sources said. At the Wednesday auction, 63 tonne of cardamom was traded at CPMC as against the normal trade of 75-80 tonne during November.
Farmers have been claiming that the production for 2007-08 would be lower by 30-40 % due to erratic weather and were expecting a huge rally in prices. In 2005-06, the production was 13,000 tonne and for 2006-07, it is estimated to be around 10,000 tonne.The average price at the auction centres for 2006-07 was Rs 313.20 per kg. Cardamom prices touched the bottom of Rs 217 per kg in the year 2005-06, while the highest price recorded in the recent past is Rs 622 per kg in 2001-02.
Farmers are also worried that high prices could lead to more imports from cheaper origins. They are demanding a ban on cardamom imports as a decline in price could lead to lesser realization for them. While some estimate that the price could rally further to new heights, others estimate that arrival pressure of Guatemala cardamom could depress prices.