Dry spell in North-East may lower cardamom production

KOLKATA: Large cardamom output in India is likely to plunge 20% in ’06-07 due to adverse climate. With poor July-August rains in major cardamom zones like Sikkim and Darjeeling, production is expected to hover at 5,500 tonnes against last year’s 6,750 tonnes.

Due to a dry spell in July-August in Sikkim, large cardamom production in the state is expected to drop 14% to 3,850 tonnes against last year’s production of 4,477 tonnes.

The dry spell impact on the spice production is far more severe in the Darjeeling district in West Bengal. According to Spices Board, the district, during the peak monsoon season this year, received 40% less rainfall than the normal average level.

The district is expected to produce about 470 tonnes of large cardamom this year, which will be 50% lower than the last year’s production of 710 tonnes. This is because a large number of berries dropped due to lack of sufficient rainfall in July-August, said a Spices Board official.

However, due to improvement in productivity in the North-East and particularly in Nagaland, overall decline in the spice production this year could be around 20%. And this is only an estimation that could change by the month-end when a clearer picture on the crop size will emerge.

According to traders, cardamom productivity has declined in Sikkim and Darjeeling due to age-old plantation, non-availability of quality planting materials, lack of improvement in post-harvest processing and curing methods. However, efforts have been initiated to improve productivity.

Despite the forecast of a lower crop, the spice prices are yet to see a bullish trend. Rather, with harvesting of the spice beginning in low altitude areas, it is now witnessing a bearish phase.