Continued warm weather prevailing in jeera (cummin seed) producing states such as Gujarat and Rajasthan for the last few weeks has delayed the sowing of the crop and this might impact output. Traders from Unjha, a hub of the country?s jeera trade, said that the sowing of jeera, which has been delayed for at least two weeks would be completed by the end of December. The new crop is expected to hit the market by the end of March or early April 2009.
Traders estimate that while in the current year there was a bumper crop of 2.8 million bags (55 kg per bag), output in 2009 may go down to 2.4 – 2.5 million bags. ?If it continues be warm for the next two weeks, output would definitely be adversely affected,? Manu Patel, president, Market Yard Merchant Association, Unjha, told FE. Despite the prospect of decline in jeera next year, exporters and traders are not unduly worried about decline in exports due to global economic slowdown because at present India has only about 6 lakh bags as stocks.
?Due to a bumper crop of around 2.8 million bags during the year as against only 1.6 million bags last year, we managed to export around 4 lakh bags till date,? Patel said. Due to adverse weather conditions prevailing in other jeera-producing countries like Turkey and Syria, the quantity of export might not be substantial.According to another traders from Unjha, the carry forward stocks for the next year would be only 3 lakh bags against around 12 lakh bags at the start of the year. The price of jeera has been in the range of Rs 1,800 – Rs 2,100 per 20-kg bag, which rose from Rs 1,500 in April to Rs 2,450 in July, has declined since then. With the jeera crop likely to be around 2.5 million bags next year, enough to meet the domestic demand of 2.2 million bags, the export market looks bright.
The total area under cultivation is estimated to be more than 4 lakh hectare. India exports jeera to Bangladesh, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the US.