India turmeric, jeera edge up on export demand.

MUMBAI: Indian turmeric futures edged up on Friday as a fall in domestic supplies and more export enquiries outweighed good progress in sowing and higher carryforward stocks.

The key August turmeric contract was 0.45 per cent up at 5,850 rupees per 100 kg on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) at 0956 GMT.

"A decline in domestic supplies and fresh demand from overseas buyers are supporting turmeric prices," said Vedika Narvekar, a senior analyst at Angel Commodities.

Spot turmeric prices rose 14 rupees to 5,717 rupees per 100 kg in Nizamabad, a key market in Andhra Pradesh.

The pace of sowing has helped and yields are expected to benefit from the recent rains, traders said.

Turmeric cultivation usually starts in June and continues until August. A lengthy harvesting process begins in January.

Jeera

Indian jeera, or cumin seed, futures edged up due to some improvement in local demand and a rise in overseas demand, though higher local supplies weighed on sentiment.

The actively traded jeera contract for August delivery edged up 0.20 per cent at 13,590 rupees per 100 kg on the NCDEX.

"Jeera is expected to trade sideways as higher supplies may pressurise prices while overseas demand may support prices at lower levels," Angel Commodities said in a research note.

Spot jeera rose 16 rupees to 13,694 rupees per 100 kg in Unjha, a key market in Gujarat.

India is the largest jeera producer in the world, followed by Syria and Turkey. Abundant rains in leading jeera cultivating regions have raised the prospects of better sowing, traders said. Jeera is a winter crop, sown from October, and farmers depend on rains to moisten the land for sowing. Daily spot supplies of jeera range from 8,000 to 10,000 bags of 60 kg each in Unjha, still higher than expected.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com