Cardamom prices rise 15%

While heavy damage to the cardamom crop has seen prices appreciate by 10-15 per cent over the last 3-4 weeks, farmers in the southern state of Kerala feel the current price rise may not help them as they have 'very little' to offer for sale.

Extreme summer weather during the April-May season had badly hit the plantations, damaging 15-20 per cent of the crop.

But the unprecedented rains and storms that followed during the June-August period, the main harvest season, had resulted in widespread damage, with the production drop re-estimated at around 45 per cent.

The damage is severe in areas such as Vandanmedu, Anavilasam, Sasthanada and Nedunkandam of the Idukki district, Kerala, where the cultivation of cardamom is widespread and intensive.

K K Devassya, the general secretary of the Cardamom Growers Association (CGA), told Business Standard that in most of the cardamom growing areas of the Idukki district, especially in places such as Udumbanchola and Kattappana, crop damage had upset the financial position of farmers.

To make matters worse, the crop was affected by a fungus outbreak in areas such as Vandanmedu and Anavilasam, with farmers failing to control the disease. In most cases, the disease destroyed the plants completely.

According to farmers, the high moisture content in the atmosphere because of the rains had helped the growth of this fungus. The lower production and supply have, meanwhile, enthused the cardamom mart, with the price tag of the best quality 8 mm bold rising to Rs 550 per kg.

The current average price realisation is Rs 450-500 a kg. This stood at Rs 300-350 three to five weeks back.

The product is being stocked aggressively now, with the farmers expecting the prices to appreciate sharply in the coming weeks.

During the 2001-02 season, the price of the best grade cardamom had peaked above the level of Rs 700, with an average price of Rs 622.

According to Devassya, the market is poised for a bull run, but the output and supply from Guatemala would be crucial in deciding the prices in the domestic cardamom mart.

The market may cross the Rs 650 mark, according to him, if the government controls imports from Guatemala.