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Cumin seed prices to stay flat

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Himanshu Bhayani Rajkot
Last Updated : Feb 14 2013 | 9:43 PM IST
Low domestic as well as international demand is expected to keep cumin seed (jeera) prices stagnant. And the trend is likely persist till arrivals of fresh crop start in February and March next year.
 
The sudden fall in domestic demand also affected the pace of trading in the country.
 
The latest crop in Gujarat (Saurashtra) and Rajasthan has made end-users keenly wait for new arrivals, though yield is likely to be much lower this season (October-November).
 
Pankaj Thakker of V P & Sons, a Mumbai-based broking firm, said, "The market sentiment bearish with the feeling that there are huge old stocks. And this is despite the fact that yield is likely to decline this season."
 
Of the districts where cumin seeds are cultivated more prominent are Banaskantha and Mehsana in Gujarat and Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur and Nagaur in Rajasthan.
 
Last year, Gujarat produced 60,000 million tonne (mt) jeera, while Rajasthan contributed 45,000 mt. The country produces cumin seeds in the range of 1,20,000-1,32,000 mt a year.
 
With at least 30,000 mt carry-forward stocks this year, and cultivation of excess cotton across Gujarat, the cumin seed crop scenario in the state has changed drastically this year.
 
Gujarat, whose yield was likely to be half of the last year level, would produce 30,000 mt. Rajasthan, also to be affected, would have a production of 36,000 mt, Thakker said.
 
And this was subject to stable weather conditions, as cumin seed was a weather-sensitive crop, he added.
 
Cumin seeds are traded mainly across the marketing yards of Unjha, in Mehsana district of north Gujarat.
 
The world's consumption of cumin seeds "� barring India "� is only 25,000-30,000 mt. The country exports cumin seeds to Bangladesh, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, the US and many other countries.
 
It also exports cumin seed powder to countries including the UK and the US. Besides India, cumin seeds are cultivated in Iran, Turkey and Syria mainly for exports.

 
 

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First Published: Dec 07 2006 | 12:00 AM IST

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