Rains, wind damage cardamom plantations in Kerala’s Idukki district

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Inclement weather accompanied by heavy rains and wind have affected cardamom plantations in Kerala’s Idukki district, a major growing region. The farming community says the existing weather conditions resulted in a fungal outbreak on plants which is likely to affect the productivity in the 2024-25 season due to plant damages.

PC Punnoose, general manager of KCPMC Ltd, said cardamom productivity in the current season is expected to be lower and it is too early to assess the crop as the harvest is yet to start.

He said the drought experienced from January to May devastated cardamom plantations, especially of small and marginal farmers, in the absence of sufficient irrigation. These farmers who cultivate in less than five acres are the mainstay of the sector, supplying quantity and quality cardamom in the market. The damages have forced them to replant the cultivated area which will take at least two years to take the yield.

Delayed harvest

Normally, harvest season for cardamom starts in the June-July period, but it was delayed from August end to mid-September and is yet to begin. The productivity, in all aspects, is on a downward trend compared to the good crop received last year. “Except for prices, nothing is favourable for cardamom like productivity, climate and plant health,” Punnoose said.

Due to lower crop, he said the prices in the auction market are quoting at ₹2,250 per kg with a subdued upcountry demand in consuming centres due to lean months. Besides, there is no positive momentum in the export market especially when importers are looking at India in a big way for cardamom supply due to crop loss in competing Guatemala. So far there is no demand for premium grades such as 7-8 mm and 8 mm that cater to the export markets, he added.

SB Prabhakar, a cardamom planter in Idukki, said the Guatemala crop has been affected by the El Nino-induced drought. The fall in global production in India and Guatemala will contribute to a sharp price rise. Domestic production has been dented due to 122-days drought from January to May with droppings in June and further damage due to winds in July. The upcoming crop is expected to be around 50 per cent of last year – around 14,000 to 16,000 tonnes.

Some growers outside the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) in Kerala are shifting back to robusta coffee and black pepper cultivation due to its record price and total loss of cardamom plants due to drought, he said.