Pepper prices in Kochi are witnessing an upward trend and are expected to move up further in the coming months. During the last fortnight pepper price has improved by Rs 10 from Rs 90 to Rs 100 per kg.
And today at the International Commodity Exchange for futures trading in pepper the price quoted for March 2003 was Rs 111.50 per kg as against the prevailing Rs 100 per kg.
Emphasising that the futures market was quoting high because of heavy demand from spice traders and stockists from North India, Ashok Mahavar of Nirmal Kumar & Company, which is into spices exports, attributed the rising demand and proportionate increase in prices to expected fall in global and domestic pepper output this year.
Revealing that the revised global production this year (2002) is expected to be lower at 3.06 lakh tonne as compared with the earlier estimated figure of 3.10 tonne, he said,
