(February 25) – India proceeds with slower harvest of new crop due to late rainy season in both major pepper growing states, Kerala and Karnataka.
According to farmers in the two major pepper producing states, they started harvesting the new crop nearly a month later than every year. Not only did the rainy season arrive late and end late due to weather changes, but production did not reach the expected level.
The International Spices Conference, held in mid-February this year in Thiruvananthapuram City, capital of Kerala state, which is India's main pepper growing state, reported this year's world pepper production is estimated at 458,500 tons, increased from 386,000 tons in 2016.
India also officially forecasted pepper output in 2017 to be 55,000 tons compared to 48,500 tons in 2016, while demand in the domestic market is estimated at 55,000 – 60,000 tons.
According to many pepper farmers in Meenangadi (Wayanad district, Kerala), low productivity and high investment costs make people unprofitable, they are expected to switch crops.
We expect the 2016/2017 crop to be relatively good after last summer's rain. But the situation changed dramatically after a failed rainy season. As a result, the crop has dropped by 30-40%, a pepper grower in Kottayam district, Kerala, said.
Meanwhile, pepper growers in the state of Karnataka have access to more scientific methods of cultivation so they have achieved higher yields and have increased their annual acreage. It is likely that the state of Karnataka will soon surpass Kerala to become India's largest pepper producing state. It is known that the state of Karnataka has a pepper area of 21,061 hectares in the 2011/12 crop and has gradually increased to 32,670 hectares with an output of 35,000 tons in the 2014/15 crop.
According to a trader, in this crop Indian farmers have harvested more than 5,000 tons of green pepper to make brine pepper and nearly double that amount to produce dried green pepper for consumption market demand. .
Spot prices of pepper were down, from Rs 66,000 a quintal for pint and 69,000 Rs per quintal for the pre-processed pepper of January 13, to Rs 58,300 a quintal (US $ 8,747 per tonne) and 61,300 lakhs / quintal (equivalent to 9,197 USD / ton) respectively, on 21/02, a sharp decline to 7,700 lakhs (about 116 USD) in just 5 weeks.
* According to a report of Vietnam General Department of Customs, exports in January 2017 reached 8,315 tons of pepper of all kinds, with a turnover of US $ 61.63 million, down 9.1% in volume and down 11.8%. in value compared with the previous month, and down 11.4% in volume and down 31.0% in value compared to the same period last year. The average export price in the period reached US $ 7,412 / ton, down 2.87% compared to the average export price of December 2016.
* Exchange rate: USD 1 = 66,6551 Rupees
Source English (giacaphe.vn)
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