Cardamom price crashes to a 4-year low

The price has crashed to Rs 350 to Rs 400 per kg from Rs 1,200 per kg last year.  The growers, enthused by the high price in 2010, had taken special care to grow the crop. With the crash in the rates, they have lost interest even in harvesting the crop.

“It costs Rs 350 per kg to harvest the crop and if it doesn’t fetch more than Rs 400, what is the use in selling it?” said Srinivas, a grower. The crop needs to be harvested once in eight months and it is an ordeal to dry them during the rainy season.

Abdul Sharief, owner of Malnad Traders, said the price crashed due to increase in supply in the international market. Even in India, last year’s produce has still remained unsold, he added.

However, the growers hope that the market for cardamom will recover by December, but the growers who are in distress can’t afford to wait.

As a cascading effect, demand for cardamom plants has also come down, he said. However, hope lingers around for those who believe that the fluctuation in price of cardamom every four years is not a new thing.