Sources said representatives from all cardamom-growing areas in the country, trade representatives and officials of the Spices Board will take stock of the situation and outline a course of action for both the planters and traders.

Though Indian cardamom has done pretty well during the season just ended, there is apprehension among growers that decreasing productivity in India will drive up domestic prices. In turn, this may entice smuggling of cardamom from Guatemala where the spice comes cheaper because of enormously high productivity per unit of cultivated area.

Cardamom growers are already scenting blood in the market with an expected 1,200-tonnes shortfall in productionduring the 1998-99 season. This is a 20 per cent drop over the 1997-98 season and the decline is attributed to a protracted dry spell over the cardamom-growing areas in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Several farmers in Kerala's Idukki district have reported plant losses due to drought-like conditions.

Meanwhile, in what may be the last auctions this season, cardamom fetched Rs 377.23 a kg at the auctions held by Mas Enterprises Limited in Vandanmedu on June 12.

Altogether 39 tonnes of cardamom were on sale of which 38 tonnes were auctioned off. It is unlikely that there will be more auctions this season as traders and growers are staying away from the market, a cardamom trader said.

Price of cardamom at the June 12 auctions is up by over Rs 20 a kg from the previous auctions at Kumaly on June 6. At Kumaly, cardamom was sold at an average price of Rs 355.55 a kg. At the previous week's auction prices were still lower at Rs 322.47 a kg. Sources at the Cardamom Marketing Corporation (CMC) in Vandanmedusaid with June 12 auctions cardamom prices touched last year's levels when the spice was being auctioned for Rs 373.61 a kg.

So far, a total of 36,13,402 kgs of cardamom has been sold this season -- between August 1997 and June 1998. In the last season, total sales was 29,93,748 kgs.

Growers in the country are happy at the price levels this season and expect the trend to continue till the new crop arrives next season. "Price of cardamom is moving up every week," said a trader in Kochi indicating that there is not much problem for cardamom growers in the immediate future.The price level is also an indication that the domestic market is not being invaded by cheap cardamom from Guatemala.

Rampant smuggling had forced down the price of cardamom in the domestic market from the 1992-93 season till the end of the 1995-96 season. After having hit a record price of Rs 450-500 a kg during the 1992-93 season, the price of Indian cardamom plummeted to Rs 250 a kg during the following three seasons forcing severalfarmers to abandon cardamom cultivation altogether.

However, the current price trends indicate that things are taking a turn for the better.