NEW DELHI: Guar gum, which set the futures market on fire a year ago, faces headwinds in the international market. Shipments of India's top agri-export commodity halved in the April-May period this year from a year ago as demand from oil and gas exploration companies has slowed down, say companies. Futures prices have remained lacklustre, worrying farmers and traders.
The July guar gum contract on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange ( NCDEX) was down 2.14% at 21,460 a quintal with an open interest of 2,801 lots at 3:45 pm on Monday. Guar seed for the July contract edged down by 1.72% to Rs 7,440 per quintal, with an open interest of Rs 7,358 lots on the exchange.
According to the provisional figures of the Directorate general of Foreign Trade (
DGFT ), guar gum exports fell 56.22% in value terms in April-May of 2013 compared to April-May of 2012.
"Guar gum exports have fallen by 20-30% in terms of volume in the past few months. Current high prices are not attracting buyers in the export market," said Sudhir Merchant, former chairman, Shellac and Forests Products Export Promotion Council (Shefexil), a nodal agency which promotes guar gum exports. He said demand by major US companies such as Halliburton, Economy Polymers and Chemicals and Chemplex was expected only if guar gum prices were in the range of Rs 16,000- Rs 20,000 a quintal.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com