Cumin seed rates stay lower in Guj over good carryover

Currently, about 5,000 bags, including old and new cumin seeds, are arriving at the Unjha market every day. The prices of high-quality cumin seeds, of fresh arrivals, are in the range of Rs 1,250-1,500 per 20 kg, while the prices for the old stock are at around Rs 1,050 per 20 kg.

This year, the opening prices of cumin seeds at the Unjha market were very low on account of surplus old stock.

In the last week, the market had a stock of over 1,000 bags (1 bag = 50 kg) a day of fresh cumin seeds, against just about 50-100 bags a day a week earlier, said Devendra Patel, a leading trader in Unjha.

"About 1,500 bags have started arriving from today. However, only 40 per cent (of them) are being sold. Two days ago, fresh arrivals were about 500-600 bags. And it seems people are waiting for the prices to go further down," he said.

The prices are bound to go down in March when the market will witness about 15,000 bags daily," according to Dinesh Patel, another leading trader.