The cardamom price rose by around 10 percent to Rs. 1,500 per kilogram on Friday from the previous level of Rs. 1,350 owing to the end of the harvesting season and a rise in demand for the spice.
The harvesting season for small cardamom ends in April every year. The demand for small cardamom is expected to go up in the ensuing months as traders would need to restock their stock before the festival season starts from this month.
The harvesting season for big or large cardamom has already ended. The production of large cardamom is expected to be lower this year due to severe drought experienced by its growing areas in Sikkim and West Bengal, according to a trader.
Cardamom price shoots up in domestic market
The price of cardamom has shot up in the domestic market as the harvesting season has ended.
The price of a kilogramme of quality cardamom has reached Rs 1,200.
Cardamom is grown mostly in Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung districts. It was cultivated on 690 hectares of land this year.
Traders had been buying cardamom at Rs 800-900 per kg during the harvesting season.
Alappuzha, May 25: Cardamom prices have risen from Rs.200 a kg three months ago to Rs.300 a kg now, as the harvesting season comes to an end.
The price rise is because of poor production and low stocking this year. Traders say that it will remain the same till September when new crop arrives in the market.
“We are getting just around 4 tonnes of cardamom per day against the normal 10 tonnes,” said M.P. Varghese, a trader at Pulikkayam cardamom market in Alappuzha district of Kerala.
“Demand is high in international market and supply is less here due to poor harvest,” he added.
With harvesting season ending, the price of cardamom has risen to Rs. 450/kg in Kerala and are expected to touch Rs. 600/kg in the coming days. With the arrival of fresh crop from Idukki and Wayanad districts, cardamom prices had fallen to Rs. 300-Rs. 350/kg a few months back. However, with harvesting season nearing an end, there is no supply of cardamom in the market, resulting in a steep rise in prices.
Reports say that currently the demand for cardamom is high as it is one of the main ingredients used in preparations for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The price of cardamom rose to a record high on Monday in India. There was not enough supply of the spice. The price rise occurred as the harvesting season ended.
The demand for cardamom was strong while supplies were tight. That pushed up prices, said Ashok Kumar, a trader. He added that the price would start falling when new stocks arrived.
The price of green cardamom rose to a record high of about $16,500 a tonne on Monday in India. That is about 20 percent higher than before the harvest season ended in April.
The price of cardamom has risen sharply with the arrival of the harvest season. The price has risen by more than half, from Rs 3,800 to Rs 7,500 per kg, in the past three months, due to a low yield.
“As harvesting season ends this month, we expect prices to rise further,” said an official of the Cardamom Processing and Export Promotion Council of India.
The domestic market is not stable, so buyers are holding back. The prices will remain firm till March next year.
Cardamom is a spice made from the seed pods of various plants. It is often referred to as the Queen of Spices. Cardamom is widely used in Indian cooking and can be found in curries, masalas, and even some sweets.
Cardamom is very popular, but it is also very expensive. In fact, cardamom is one of the most expensive spices in the world. So what makes it so expensive? The main reason for this high price is that cardamom plants only grow in very specific regions. These regions need to have very specific conditions to grow the cardamom plant, which makes them rare. This means that there are not many places where you can find these plants growing naturally.
Because cardamom plants are so rare, they can only be grown in small quantities. This keeps the supply low while demand remains high. Cardamom also has a short harvesting season, which only lasts for two months out of the year.
