India pepper ends up on thin arrivals; seen steady

Jan 31 (Reuters) - India's pepper futures closed slightly up on Monday due to diminishing stocks and poor arrivals in the peak season, analysts said.

Sluggish export demand, however, capped the gains and the spice is expected to open steady on Tuesday.

Arrivals from the new crop have started in some of the interior markets of Kerala but in very small quantities.

"Supply is very thin in spot. But any sharp rise in the prices could be seen only if export demand improves. For February contract, 22,000 rupees is a good support level. But if it is broken, prices may fall to 21,410 rupees," said Nalini Rao, analyst at Angel Commodities.

Most of the pepper producing countries have been left with very thin stocks, analysts and traders said.

In India, the third largest pepper producer in the world after Vietnam and Indonesia, the crop is harvested from December to February but this year was delayed due to unseasonal rains.

India's pepper exports in April-December 2010 fell 9 percent to 14,000 tonnes. [ID: nSGE70Q04E]

In Kochi spot market, pepper fell 174.5 rupees to end at 22,112.50 rupees per 100 kg.

Following are the closing prices of pepper futures in rupees per 100 kg on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd.

(Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/india-pepper-outlook-idINSGE70U0BX20110131)