India imports cheap black pepper from Indonesia
Buying black pepper from Indonesia at cheaper price for using as ingredients would bring down the cost of value-added pepper derivatives.
By Ratna Ganguli, TNN |
KOLKATA: With Indonesian black pepper becoming cheaper in the world market, India has started importing pepper from that country. The import contract is mainly being executed by spice exporters of the country to meet the input requirements for export-bound production of value-added pepper. About four exporters have, over the past few days, booked for importing about 3,000 tonnes of Indonesian black pepper at $3,400 per tonne.
Buying black pepper from Indonesia at that price for using as ingredients would bring down the cost of value-added pepper derivatives, which would eventually give some breather to exporters to sell their products in the international market, said a leading domestic exporter of value-added speciality pepper. The import from Indonesia has been booked by EOUs and pepper processing units located in SEZs.
Even as pepper originating from Vietnam is cheaper, local exporters are preferring the Indonesian ASTAgrade pepper for its better quality, added the exporter.
Industry sources, however, said pepper processors and traders, who do not have high-value customers in the global market, will continue to import cheap quality pepper from Vietnam. According to Angel Commodities, Vietnam is now offering its black pepper at $3,160-3,170 per tonnes for 500-GL, at $3,350 a tonnes for 550-GL and at $3,420 a tonnes for 570-GL grade pepper.
In the domestic market, pepper prices remain stable over the past couple of days. Garbled pepper price is hovering around Rs 140 per kg and ungarbled pepper at Rs 134 per kg.
After exporting about 20,000 tonnes of black pepper in April-October, exporters may look at bagging new contracts in bulk once fresh crop starts arriving in the markets, which is expected from January. But analysts see little scope for boosting exports at least in the next 3-4 months. They pointed out that lower estimates of pepper production at global level in 2007-08 may prevent pepper prices from falling sharply in the domestic market also.
Buying black pepper from Indonesia at that price for using as ingredients would bring down the cost of value-added pepper derivatives, which would eventually give some breather to exporters to sell their products in the international market, said a leading domestic exporter of value-added speciality pepper. The import from Indonesia has been booked by EOUs and pepper processing units located in SEZs.
Even as pepper originating from Vietnam is cheaper, local exporters are preferring the Indonesian ASTAgrade pepper for its better quality, added the exporter.
Industry sources, however, said pepper processors and traders, who do not have high-value customers in the global market, will continue to import cheap quality pepper from Vietnam. According to Angel Commodities, Vietnam is now offering its black pepper at $3,160-3,170 per tonnes for 500-GL, at $3,350 a tonnes for 550-GL and at $3,420 a tonnes for 570-GL grade pepper.
In the domestic market, pepper prices remain stable over the past couple of days. Garbled pepper price is hovering around Rs 140 per kg and ungarbled pepper at Rs 134 per kg.
After exporting about 20,000 tonnes of black pepper in April-October, exporters may look at bagging new contracts in bulk once fresh crop starts arriving in the markets, which is expected from January. But analysts see little scope for boosting exports at least in the next 3-4 months. They pointed out that lower estimates of pepper production at global level in 2007-08 may prevent pepper prices from falling sharply in the domestic market also.
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