Spices Board revamps cardamom marketing

A series of decisions to revamp the marketing of cardamom has been taken by the Spices Board at its board meeting held here on Tuesday. The board has decided to enable sale of cardamom by farmers directly to any licensed dealer of his choice. Till now, the growers could sell cardamom only through auctions which were held throughout the week in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The board has also decided to issue fresh auctioneer licenses to bodies formed under the Companies Act, Cooperative Act, Charitable Societies Act and under partnership on furnishing of bank guarantee worth the value of the lots auctioned for two weeks in the last crop . Necessary amendments in the rules will be notified. It has also been decided that the auction companies shall pay the farmers the price of the cardamom sold in the auctions within seven days.

The cardamom auctions were disrupted for a month from September 25 with Spices Board deciding to hike the bidding rate from 50 paise to Rs 5. The auctions resumed with bidding rate revised to Rs 2. But a section of traders stayed away.