Informist, Monday, May 2, 2022

By Kavita Desai

MUMBAI - Futures contracts of most spices, barring coriander, closed lower on domestic exchanges today. Prices of chilli in Andhra Pradesh's benchmark market of Guntur remained steady, market participants said.

* TURMERIC futures hit a 4% lower circuit on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange due to rise in arrivals at key trading centres and sluggish demand from bulk buyers. The most-active May contract fell to a three-month low of 8,164 rupees per 100 kg earlier today.

* Overseas demand is also weak, but is expected to pick up after Ramzan, said Vikas Nagla, a trader in Nizamabad, Telangana.

* In Telangana's Nizamabad market, the bulb and finger varieties of turmeric were sold at 6,200-7,000 rupees per 100 kg and 7,400-8,200 rupees per 100 kg, respectively, both down 100 rupees from Friday. Arrivals were estimated at 6,000 bags (1 bag = 65 kg), as against 4,500 bags on Friday.

* JEERA futures, too, ended lower due to profit booking by traders after prices had risen recently. However, the outlook remains firm as supplies are expected to tighten due to a likely drop in production in the ongoing 2021-22 (Jul-Jun) season, which may support prices in the long term. 

* Traders expect jeera production in the ongoing season at 5.0-6.0 mln bags (1 bag = 55 kg), down from 8.0-8.5 mln bags the previous year. The lower estimate is mainly attributed to a sharp fall in acreage in Gujarat and Rajasthan and heavy post-monsoon rainfall in November, which affected the yield and quality of the crop.

* CORIANDER contracts on domestic bourse rose marginally taking cues from Rajasthan's Ramganj market, where firm demand from local stockists and lower arrivals supported prices, said Giriraj Gupta, a local trader.

* In Ramganj, the badami variety was sold at 12,600 rupees per 100 kg and the eagle variety at 13,100 rupees, both up by 100 rupees from Saturday. Arrivals were pegged at 5,000 bags (1 bag = 45 kg), compared with 6,000 bags the previous day.

* Prices of CHILLI in Guntur remained steady as arrivals were sufficient to meet the demand. The Teja variety was sold at 18,500 rupees per 100 kg and the LCA-334 variety at 19,000 rupees. Arrivals were pegged at 100,000 bags (1 bag = 40 kg), compared with 60,000 bags on Friday.

* Prices are seen mostly steady or slightly higher in the coming days due to firm demand from local stockists and lack of good quality spice in the market, said Ashok Jain, owner of Guntur-based Ankur Enterprises.

* Torrential rains in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka in November damaged the standing crop, leading to lower yield. The quality of crop has also been hit due to pest attacks. 

Following are the prices of the most-active contracts of spices as of 1700 IST:

* Following are the expected support and resistance levels for contracts of spices for trade on Wednesday:

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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