Pepper looks up

Pepper prices rose marginally in anticipation of curbs on imports from Sri Lanka in the coming budget. This however had pushed up costs for buyers.

The Spices Board had recommended import controls through quotas.

International pepper price for the garbled variety rose to Rs 7500 per quintal earlier this week.

Few countries were now selling in India. The highest pepper price in the world was at Kochi.

The Indian price was $1725 per tonne. In contrast, Indonesian pepper was at $1375-1400 and Vietnam's ASTA variety was at $1370.

Pepper from Brazil would hit the global market by October.

Import of pepper from Sri Lanka was the only problem, with the landing price at Kochi being $1500/t. Traders said pepper prices could go up if the budget was favourable.