Selling bout, weak US mart dent pepper

The current strong selling spree, coupled with a rather 'non-cooperative' attitude of prominent import companies, especially in the US, have triggered off a bearish phase in black pepper market.

The spot market of garbled pepper, which quoted Rs 10,500 per quintal on Monday, the highest during the last two years, has plummeted to Rs 10,200 on Friday, while the tag of farm-grade (ungarbled) pepper has dropped to the level of Rs 9,800.

Major export traders opined that the domestic market is under heavy pressure of increased selling, as growers are eager to clear off their old stock at the current tags, which are rather higher than the tags two or three months back.

Domestic pepper market was on a bull run for the last couple of weeks and market sources were expecting a price tag between Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,000, a quintal on account of the delayed crop in Brazil and Indonesia.

An export dealer added that one could not expect an immediate bull phase under the present market conditions, but further appreciation in prices could be expected by November.

Both overseas and domestic demand are rather weak now, although the prices have moved up by around 40 per cent during the last six weeks.