Govt mulls pepper futures exchange

The Centre has proposed to open a pepper futures exchange in Vietnam soon, Rajani Ranjan Rashmi, Additional Secretary at the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said on Monday, adding that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with the Vietnam government in this regard, on Tuesday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the 43rd Session and Meeting of the International Pepper Community (IPC) here on Monday, he said, “A significant development is the decision to set up a national-level Pepper Futures Exchange in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, jointly by India and Vietnam. It will foster transparency in prices of the commodity. A Vietnamese delegation has already visited various future trading agencies in Mumbai to study their functioning.”

“The global consumption of pepper, estimated at about 3.5 lakh tonnes, is consistently growing and has ensured good returns to farmers. However, a fair price to pepper farmers and competitiveness of pepper exports can be ensured only by increasing production and productivity, as well as its consumption,” he observed.

The official said that pepper prices have been buoyant last year, and even touched an all-time high of $9.90 per kilogram for black pepper and $13.57 for white pepper in November 2014, which continued at the same level till October this year. The total global exports of pepper during 2014 was about 2.78 lakh tonne, valued at $2.30 billion.

“The future growth of pepper economy must be addressed at different dimensions. Prices have to be stabilised through transparency. Value addition and processing will facilitate better realisation. The wellness industry and health tourism have provided enormous potential for pepper. But, the medicinal and nutritional value of pepper should be further explored. Pepper should be processed, packaged and branded as a nutraceutical, herbal medicine and cosmetic product,” he said.

He stressed on standardisation of pepper, and recalled the decision taken during the last meeting of the IPC, held in Goa. In this context, India has agreed to standardise black pepper under CODEX, he said. He also informed that the Centre has agreed to increase incentives for exports of pepper.

An exhibition of various products based on spices was inaugurated on the occasion. Awards were presented to achievers in two categories. The awardees under farmers category are: Le Manh Lue from Vietnam, B M Mahesh Kumar from India (Hassan district in Karnataka), and M C M Zarook from Sri Lanka.

The awardees under exporters category are: EOAS Organics from Sri Lanka, Indian Products from India (Bengaluru), and Petromilex International Trading Joint Stock Company from Vietnam.