The upcoming Delhi Assembly polls and cold weather conditions seem to have hit cardamom consumption in the city, as is evident from prices remaining steady in the auction market on Monday.

Observing that Delhi is normally a major cardamom consumer, traders said the elections coupled with inclement weather had made an impact. Consumption has come down especially because of the absence of any major celebrations such as marriages, they added.

Despite active upcountry participation at the Bodinayakanur auctions compared to the previous days, the prices remained steady. This was in spite of a substantial increase in arrivals at 125 tonnes for pooling, which realised a combined average price of ₹3,750 per kg.

No price uptrend

The market regained some strength after a week-long ‘holiday mood’, but this was not reflected in the prices, which have not shown any uptrend. Exporters were inactive and local buyers carried out moderate buying. The trade also expects one more round of crop to land, as the final round of harvest has already started for this season.

In the morning session, auctioneer Mas Enterprises Ltd offered 60.5 tonnes of 263 lots, of which 57.4 tonnes realised an average price of ₹3,760.56/kg. The highest price quoted for selected lots was ₹4,308/kg. Header Systems India Ltd was the auctioneer for the afternoon session, and the quantity on offer was 64.5 tonnes. There were 296 lots, of which 59.9 tonnes realised an average price of ₹3,740.54/kg. The highest price quoted for selected lots was ₹4,098/kg.

Trade analysts Acumen Capital Markets said the most active cardamom futures fell by 3.15 per cent, or ₹129.40, to ₹3,972 when last traded on Monday.

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