The decision of the Union Commerce Ministry to fix the minimum import price for black pepper at ₹500 a kg has been welcomed by the growers.
Vishwanath KK, coordinator of the consortium of pepper growers’ organisation, told BusinessLine that he is happy that the Central government is listening to the farmers.
On November 21, representatives from consortium of pepper growers’ organisations had met the Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, and urged the Centre to regulate and restrict the import of black pepper into the country.
Konkodi Padmanabha, convenor of the consortium, said that many farmers will be benefited by this move of the Centre. The consortium had urged the Minister to fix minimum import price for pepper at $8,000 a tonne.
SR Satishchandra, President of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, said this move will help improve the market condition in the country. (Campco is a member of the consortium).
In recent times, decline in the domestic pepper price due to cheaper import of pepper from other origins has been a major concern among pepper growers.
Spot prices fell by ₹200 a quintal to ₹37,900 (ungarbled) and ₹39,900 (garbled).
Export prices were at $6,450 a tonne c&f for Europe and $6,700 for the US.