Errant rains take toll on cardamom output

A halt in monsoon showers during June 5-20 has affected the production of cardamom, according growers of Idukki district.

A leading planter said because of the stoppage of rains the initial supply of new crop had been curtailed, and the weekly arrival to the auction centres had dropped to 15-20 tonne, compared with a normal weekly arrival of 30-35 tonne (at the start of the season).

All the auction centres "� except MAS "� have suspended trading for the time being and will resume only by the middle of July, as arrivals are expected to pick up by then.

Growers said though there had been good monsoon showers during the end of May, a stoppage in rains during the ripening period of cardamom (the first two weeks of June) had hit the crop badly. "The new crop will be slightly delayed this time, and harvesting will be in full swing only by September," the planter said.

The crop during June-August would not be at the normal level on account of bad weather, he added. He further said growers had made downward revision of production at 15,000-17,000 tonne, from their previous estimate of over 20,000 tonne.

In the last auction, held on June 7, the best quality cardamom fetched Rs 385 a kg, while the lowest price was Rs 120 and the average tag Rs 230.

Lower price realisations during 2005-06 have also affected production in the current season, as small and medium growers were not interested in applying pesticides and manure.

According planters, the average cost of production of one kg cardamom would be Rs 400, while the average price of one kg in 2005-06 was Rs 212. The fact that prices have dropped steadily during the last five years has dented the interest of growers.

While in 2001-02, the average price of cardamom was Rs 622, it dropped to Rs 561 next year and plunged to Rs 361 in 2003-04. In 2004-05, the price slumped to Rs 302 and plummeted to Rs 212 last season.

The arrival of cardamom in the north Indian markets from Guatemala, through the Nepal border had pushed the prices down to such lows. If the same trend continues this season too, the domestic cardamom market will witness an acute downturn, the local growers feared.

They said the government had not taken any serious measure to curb the illegal imports from Guatemala, despite Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Jairam Ramesh's assurance.

Nepal has been importing around 2,000 tonne of cardamom a year, with the country's domestic consumption below 100 tonne.

Domestic growers demanded a price support system and an exports incentive scheme for cardamom in the new season, to tide over the current difficulty of production.

An Idukki district grower was of the opinion that the government should announce a cardamom fund in line with the fund for coffee or black pepper or rubber announced recently.

Rs 1,200 crore would be earmarked for re-plantation in these crops and the concerned commodity boards would submit detailed reports on this.

Spices Board has chalked out plans to start electronic auction for cardamom, which is expected to kick off in the current season itself.

But growers are eagerly awaiting a price support scheme or some kind of market intervention operations by the government to bail cardamom growers out of the tough time.