Pepper zooms on firm domestic demand

Lackluster trades at the domestic market led spot prices to end slightly lower by 0.42 percent on Thursday. Higher buying resulted in Futures rising by 0.27% to close at Rs.22,700/qtl.
Demand from the overseas and domestic buyers are expected to improve in the coming days.
As a measure to boost the export of value added spices from India, Spices Board has launched the first major processing hub for pepper and cardamom at Puttady in Kerala’s Idukki district. (Source : Financial Express)
Production and Arrivals
Pepper harvesting in India in small quantity has started from the 15th Jan 2011 and will gain pace from the first week of February. Harvesting was delayed on account of the extended rains till mid-dec in producing regions.
Production of pepper in India in 2010-11 is projected to be 48 thousand tonnes (according to the Spices Board) as compared to 50 thousand tonnes in the last year. India has slipped to the fourth position in the world pepper export mart due to decline in the production since past few years.
Indian production is waning since past few years due to old vines, static acreage, poor replanting and shift to other remunerative crops like rubber, cocoa and coffee. The average annual pepper production in India is 55,000 tonnes.
Outlook
Pepper prices in the intraday are expected to trade firm due to lower arrivals and better offtakes.
In the short term (till January), Pepper prices will depend on demand from the overseas and domestic market and fresh arrivals in the physical mandi in Kochi.
In the medium to long term (February onwards), price trend will depend on pepper stocks with major producers and Black pepper production estimates of Vietnam for 2011. Black pepper production is likely to be lower by around 9 percent to 1 lakh tonnes as compared to 1.10 lakh tonnes the previous year.

(Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/futures-trading/technical/Pepper-zooms-on-firm-domestic-demand-21404.html)