Heavy rain cools pepper demand in India’s upcountry markets

A subdued upcountry demand and cheaper imports from Sri Lanka have affected black pepper prices at the Kochi terminal market.

Indian Pepper and Spice Traders Association (IPSTA) officials said prices of ungarbled varieties came down to ₹650 a kg, but they slowly gaining, touching ₹655-660, while Idukki grades are quoting at ₹665-670. The traded quantity was 20.5 tonnes. Pepper arrival for the week was 181 tonnes — 37 tonnes more than last week.

According to Kishor Shamji, Director, IPSTA, Sri Lankan pepper is available in the domestic market at lower rates because of its declining prices at $6,300-6,500 a tonne, prompting many end users to procure despite its lower bulk density and high moisture content. There are also reports that importers are buying pepper from the domestic market to mix it with imported stuff to improve the bulk density.

Landslide impact

He said the heavy rain in North Indian cities has affected consumer demand for pepper across the markets, hitting the procurement of consuming industries. The rain has badly affected the demand in Kerala markets and the situation is likely to affect the pepper production in the next season.

On the Wayanad landslides, he said the crop loss especially for pepper is yet to be assessed. But the share of pepper from these regions has decreased considerably as farmers shifted to other crops and tourism-related activities by converting their land. Overall pepper supply from Wayanad has come down.

There could be losses as Wayanad is one of the pepper production regions in Kerala.