Lower arrivals continue to witness cardamom auctions, forcing the auctioneers to cancel the sale in the afternoon session at Puttady.

The lower arrivals is an indication that the current harvest is almost over and the emerging situation may lead to scarcity of the capsules resulting in gradual increase in prices, traders said. The quantity offered in the morning session was only 23 tonnes and the auctioneers KCPMC expressed the hope that the market is likely to be stable. The market according to traders has been witnessing a very slow demand as there was no sales happening across the trade centres in upcountry markets.

There was low buyer participation and most of them are not coming forward for purchase. The upcountry buyers are reluctant to enter the primary markets. Traders attributed the trend to high-priced inventory both at the primary trade centres and consuming markets, forcing buyers to abstain from the market. A revival is expected only after the Delhi polls which would perk up the upcountry demand. Delhi is considered as a major hub for cardamom sales where it was distributed to many North Indian consuming markets, traders added.

Being the fag end of the harvest season, traders also worried over the availability of inferior quality capsules from the plantations.

Trade analysts Acumen Capital Markets said that most active cardamom March futures fell by 1.14 per cent or Rs 42.7 to Rs 3675.4 when closed on Monday. The March futures price is showing some weakness on the daily chart.