Kochi: Prices of poppy seeds have plummeted in the domestic and international markets on excess supply and that in the Indian markets dropped to Rs 320 a kg from Rs 550 a kg with a potential to fall further to Rs 200 a kg very soon when the new crop starts arriving.
The trade is planning to bring in blue poppy seeds which claim to have the same taste and is available now in the international market at $1,100 a tonne. Its landed cost will work out to Rs 100-110 a kg, market sources told Business Line. All the other spices are showing an upward swing following crop failure, they said.
White seeds
Meanwhile, prices of white poppy seeds, which used to be higher, have crashed from Rs 550 to Rs 340 a kg as the Indian crop is three times that of last year, following the increase in area to about 12,000 hectares from 4,000 hectares the previous year.
The new crop in Turkey, expected in two months, is also said to be big estimated at 18,000 tonnes. Consequently, prices in Turkey have already plummeted to $3,800 a tonne from $6500 a tonne and it is likely to fall further to $2,500 a tonne when the new crop arrives in the market in June/July, they claimed.
India imports 90 per cent of Turkey’s crop every year. The Centre had reduced import duty on poppy seeds to 25 per cent from 47 per cent recently to encourage legal imports, and stop under-invoicing, hawala trade, smuggling through Pakistan and Nepal, they said.
Increased availability in the world market is caused also by the entry of some of the European countries into growing both white and blue poppy seeds this year. Imports may, therefore, now come from these countries also, they said.
Hence, the prices will be under pressure, they claimed. In fact, hitherto high prices have made consumers switch to alternate spices with the same taste of blue poppy seeds, such as sesame and cucumber seeds.
Imports from Czech
Indian importers are understood to be in the process of importing blue poppy seeds from the Czech Republic, which is now the biggest producer of it in the world with a crop of 59,000 tonnes in 2008. The next crop will arrive in the market by August. However, it is said to have enough goods till the arrival of the new crop. As the prices are ruling very low at around $1,000 a tonne in Europe, the farmers in Czech Republic are unlikely to plant more this year, Czech sources were quoted as saying.
“If we import blue poppy seeds, landing cost will come to Rs 100 a kg, so it can be sold at Rs 125 easily, compared with Turkey’s white poppy seeds, which is sold at Rs 340 a kg today,” Bangalore-based dealers said.
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They claimed that because of the low prices and no change in the taste hotels, masala industry and domestic consumers would now switch over to blue poppy seeds. According to them, “trial imports are going on, quality is approved, cargos expected to reach India in April.” This might mark the end of the monopoly business of white poppy seeds between India and Turkey, they claimed.
Czech blue poppy seeds cultivation and exports are claimed to be 100 per cent legal and all business is watched and controlled by their customs department strictly, they said.
Source : sify.com