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The demand from corporate buyers, who were using dry fruit hampers as gifts for the festival, came down drastically this year due to high prices a month ago
With Diwali demand tapering dry fruit prices have fallen 6-11 per cent. Consumers’ shift towards chocolates and other low-priced sweets has also led to a drop in demand for dry fruits, leading to a drop in prices.
“The demand for dry fruits has declined almost 30 per cent in the past one week as most of the purchases for Diwali festival is over. The demand from corporate buyers, who were using dry fruit hampers as gift for the festival, has come down alarmingly this year due to very high prices a month ago. The softening of prices in the international markets has also impacted the domestic prices this year,” said Rahul Kamath, partner, Bola Surendra Kamath & Sons, a Mangalore-based dry fruits trader.
Almond prices have declined six to eight per cent to Rs 595-610 a kg against the peak price of Rs 645 a kg about 15 days ago. Similarly, cashew kernel prices for W240 grade have seen a drop of seven to 11 per cent to Rs 625-650 a kg, compared to the peak price of Rs 700 a kg a fortnight ago in major markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Mangalore.
“Indian domestic market moved up during September but has been steady for the past two-to-three weeks. There is good demand for quality product. We can expect a slowing down of activity during October-end or early November. But there should be a revival of buying by traders after mid November for the marriage season, depending on retail off-take in the festival season, which will end by early November,” said Pankaj Sampat of Samsons Traders, a Mumbai-based commodity brokerage house.
The prices of W320 grade cashew kernels have declined from $3.35 per lb (pound) a fortnight ago to $3.10 per lb. Similarly, almond prices have dropped from $2.70 to $2.40-2.45.
“Orders for gift boxes close a month before Diwali. This year, due to very high prices, the corporate houses have shifted their preference for dry fruits to other items like chocolates, biscuits, low-priced sweets and other items like glassware. The prices of dry fruit gift boxes were almost double this year compared to last year. As a result, the demand for assorted dry fruit boxes has come down as much as 30 per cent this year,” said Kamath.
The traders in mandis of Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore are holding enough stocks of dry fruits and are unable to sell at profitable prices due to a sudden drop in demand. Unless some last minute purchases happens, mainly from sweet makers, the stockists may have to incur losses this year, Kamath pointed out.
According to traders, prices of most of the dried fruits had surged a couple of months ago due to multiple reasons including rupee depreciation, increased demand and short supply in the domestic market, among others.
