Pepper price continues to soar

Aided by speculation and reports of shortfall in production in India and Vietnam, spot pepper continued to scale record highs, closing on Monday at an all-time high of Rs.39,500 a quintal at the terminal market here.

Arrivals

Trading closed on Saturday with pepper quoting at Rs.38,300, down from the previous record of Rs.38,700 a quintal, set on February 29. Price then continued to sway a little, though at lower levels. India Pepper and Spice Trade Association reported arrivals of 30 quintals against the offtake of 70 quintals.

An exporter in Kochi said that bull operators predicted, early last week, that pepper price might cross the Rs.400-mark per kg.