Like last month, the Cardamom continued with a downward trend. While there were three price hikes and three price drops for the previous month, there were mainly price drops in October. Compared to last and this month, cardamom prices reached their lowest of the two months on October 26. All the five varieties of green Cardamom trended at the month’s lowest price on that day.
For reference, the prices were as follows:
- Green Cardamom 8 mm recorded the new low of the last two months at $19,60 per kg FOB.
- Green Cardamom 7.5 mm traded at $16,75 per kg FOB, the lowest for the variety for September and October.
- Green Cardamom 7.2 mm price slumped to $15,80 per kg FOB.
- Green Cardamom 7 mm closed the market at the lowest price for September and October at $15,37 per kg FOB.
- Green Cardamom 6.5 mm -6.8 mm witnessed the new low at $14,99 per kg FOB on the last week of October.
The higher production of the crop seems to be the reason for capping the price. Compared to last year, when the production was between 19,000 and 20,000 MT, it’s calculated to be between 22,000 MT and 23,000 MT for 2020-21. Now the production is expected to be far better for the year 2021-22 at 30,000 MT.
The market has already started flooding with the new supply of Cardamom and will continue to be so as the picking of the new crop continues in Kerala’s growing regions.
However, low crop prices did not lead the farmers and traders to sell. Instead, they are willing to wait until they receive a better price for the crop. Since the weather is good and in the last two years, the spice fetched a reasonable price, and the farmers are willing to take care of the crop instead of selling them at a lower price.
The farmers and traders’ patience did help them get a reasonable price during the first half of the month; after the price went south, it was able to pick up soon.
Green Cardamom 8 mm traded at $20,30 per kg FOB, Green Cardamom 7.5 mm closed at $17,46 per kg FOB, and Green Cardamom 7.2 mm reached the price of $16,44 per kg FOB on October 7. On the same day, Green Cardamom 7 mm and Green Cardamom 6.5 mm -6.8 mm also experienced the highest prices at $15,77 per kg FOB and $15,43 per kg FOB, respectively. The prices remained stable throughout the month before they declined on October 18 and continued on October 26.
The rise in the demand for the excellent quality of the pods resulted in the market going north and then staying stable after the sudden slump in the price. Also, with the upcoming festival Diwali and the arrival of the wedding season, the prices were expected to stay firm instead of developing a southward trend. The prediction, however, failed towards the month’s end, and the sudden downward spiral continued. The reason is more crop supply compared to the demand both in the domestic and export market.
The current price trend of Cardamom recorded for the month is soon becoming a concern for the farmers and traders of the spice. The picture will get more transparent as to how it will fare in the market after the harvesting of the new crop is complete, and it reaches the market.
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