Poor quality spurs pepper imports

The country failed to take advantage of the cheapest pepper prices the world over, with imports making up 60 per cent of the country's total exports in the last five months.

The development has raised questions over the quality of the country's pepper, even as it boasts of higher production and rising shipments.

The country exported 9,781 tonnes of the spice between January and May even as it imported 6,040 tonnes during the same period. Surprisingly, Vietnam, which raised its tags, was able to import 233 tonnes to India during the same period.

According to leading exporters, India's ASTA variety prices have been the lowest compared with those in the international market. However, the country's value-added processors and oleoresin manufacturers have been opting for other varieties of the spice, leading to a rise in imports, the exporters said.

Jojan Malayil of Bafna Enterprises, the largest Indian pepper exporter, said though the ASTA variety is cheaper, the FAQ varieties, which were in the higher range and of a superior quality, were sought by pepper processors and manufacturers of oleoresin.

Meanwhile, the domestic stock, according to estimates by exporters, is around 25,000 tonnes, including 14,000 tonnes of valid stock lying with the leading commodity exchanges.

Meanwhile, thanks to low global demand, Vietnam has been forced to reduce the tags further and is currently lower than the Indian tags for FAQ varieties.

According to experts, Vietnam is yet to grab more demand as Europe and the USA had bought substantial quantity during in the last five months.