Black Pepper Oil (Piper nigrum) - Dec 18, 2011

Over the past two months there has been limited availability of Black Pepper in the market place as many farmers holding stocks have been reluctant to sell in anticipation of better prices in 2012.

It is estimated that through this present production season the estimated output of pepper in India will be around 43,000 MT, which is lower by around 5,000 MT on last season's crop. The season will finish in January when we will fully understand the volumes available. Many farmers are choosing to move out of these labour intensive crops and replace with products like coffee and rubber.

Carry over stocks in other producing countries are also expected to be slightly lower.

Indonesian production is the lowest for some time, and although the next crop is expected to be better than last year the devastating impact of modern day climatic changes means that Indonesia may never return to being market leaders in this oil.

Sri Lankan prices also remain firm due to crop failures with output predicted to be as low as 13,000 MT, which is 25% down on previous years.

One positive comes from Vietnam where the export volumes increased this year by 78% to 98,000 MT.

Although there will be some realignment at the end of the Indian producing season in January where stocks will be a little easier to secure, prices are now expected to recover to 2010 levels unless demand takes a sudden downturn. How long the Indian farmers can wait to release stocks to the International traders will also dictate prices over the next few months.

News tags : Market

<< Back