The pepper traders expect the demand for the spices variety to revive in North India post the Maha Kumbh Mela. Many consuming centres in the North India had witnessed subdued buying in the recent past.
Traders said that there have been lesser activities in North Indian consuming centres, which is expected to be revived once the festival fervour is over by next week.
Prices were down by 7 per cent last week with un-garbled varieties ruling at ₹652 per kg and garbled at ₹672 in Kochi terminal market.
Pilgrim season
Kishore Shamji, a trader in Kochi said the market is ruling steady as the first round of plucking is over in production centres, witnessing a shortage in crop arrival to the terminal market. The early plucking of the crop by farmers in Idukki, Pathanamthitta areas to meet the Sabarimala demand also led to lower crop arrivals to the terminal market. The pilgrim season had fetched them a decent income with market reports saying that farmers sold 1/2 kg packets of black pepper at ₹650 for pilgrims.
It is expected that there could be a shortage of around 50 per cent in the current harvest season, while the Agriculture Department has put the deficit to 70 per cent.
Domestic demand
Last year, the production was 1,20,000 tonnes with a carry forward stock of 50,000 tonnes. The domestic demand for pepper is estimated at 1,32,000 tonnes which is going up due to rising consumption from masala makers. However, the deficiency in crop by 50 per cent due to climate and rainfall patterns may hit the prospects in 2025 in many regions, forcing the sector to depend more on imports.
The import of pepper, according to Shamji, is on the higher side with 35,563 tonnes mainly from Sri Lanka. However, the island nation is also expecting a crop loss in the current season due to climate issues and it may force the industry to look for other countries to meet the demand.