Bhopal: The prices of raw spices in the city are going through the roof because of recent flood in Kerala. The price has seen a 50% hike. The situation has come to such a pass that the raw spices may soon go out of stock.
Raw spices sourced from come Kerala include green cardamom (elaichi), black pepper (kalimirch), nutmeg (jaiphal), dry mace (javantri), cloves (lavang), Dalchini, dry ginger (sonth), ), cinnamon (Dalchini), cumin (Jeera) and bay leaf (Tejpatta).
Green cardamom which was available between Rs 500 and Rs 1100 / kg, is now priced between Rs 1000 and Rs 2000. Black peeper that used to cost around 500 is now Rs 1000/ kg. The rates of nutmeg and dry mace are Rs 1000 earlier it was Rs 500. However, the price of coconut has also hiked by 25% to 30 %.
Owner of Jai Hind Tading, Jumerati, Gaurav Sawlani told Free Press, “On an average, we can say its price is hiked by 40 % to 50 %. We fetch 11 varieties of raw species including cardamom, black peeper, nutmeg, dry mace, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and bay leaf in huge quantity from Kerala only . We have three varieties of cardamom including 7mm, 9mm and gold. The price of gold cardamom is now Rs 2000, earlier its price Rs 1100.”
“We can’t say that the hiked price is temporary or permanent, but it will take time normalise. It may out of stock if demand is high and supply is low. It has also affected our sale by 10 % to 17% due to price hike.” added Salwani, a wholesale trader.
Similarly, proprietor of – Mahesh Kumar & Company, New Market, Ramesh Agrawal said, “We mainly purchase spices from Kerala and its price has suddenly hiked especially the rate of elaichi due to Kerala flood. The price of coconut is also hiked by Rs 10 per piece.”
Besides raw spices, the production of coffee has also been affected. “We fetch coffee seeds from Wayanad, a rural district form Kerala. We have enough stock for now so we haven’t hiked its price. But there may be its shortage in coming days,” said manager of Indian Coffee House, New Market, Kumaran.
Rubber plantation affected
Flood has also hit rubber production in Kerala, so the prices of tyres may also go up. Depot manager of Nedrak, Sindhi Colony, Gaur said, “60% to 70% rubber has imported from Kerala across country. So, the flood affected the rubber industries badly. And it will take around two months to normalise the situation.”
He further said, “Normally in big tyre manufacturer company, there is stock of one month while one week in small manufacturer. So it rates may hike 1% to 2 % in first week of September and by the end of September, it price will be increased by 4% to 5% or it may be out of stock.”
