"This is not much of a fall given the price trends during the last two weeks," said a grower in Santhanpara. He cited the case of predictions earlier in the month that even before the ensuing Deepawali season, prices would fall sharply. At the MAS enterprises auction on Friday at Bodinaikanur cardamom collected from Kerala, 40 tonnes were sold at an average price of Rs 415 per kg.

Buyers from upcountry centres like Kanpur, Calcutta and Delhi were present at the Friday auctions, sources at the centre told The Financial Express. However, they added that the buyers were only taking supplies for the festival season and were buying only smallquantities. These buyers were not discouraged by poor arrivals on Thursday, when only 10 tonnes were put up for sale.

One of the phenomena being noticed this year is the great demand for the pan type cardamom. Pan type is the smallest of the cardamom after the harvest is graded at the auction centres. This type is generally bought for the purpose of preparing chewing betel.

Cardamom is generally graded in three categories: Pan, Medium and Bold. According to sources at the auction centres, Pan type cardamom has been in limited supply this season and has witnessed great demand among buyers for the festival season.

Along with poor support from domestic buyers, cardamom is also witnessing a lack of interest from the exporters, who were very active at the auctions till three weeks back. About 60 tonnes are estimated to have been bought for exports between August and September end. Although the exporters were buying about one tonne per day from the auctions, their interest has dwindled. Apparently, they wereonly pressing to honour short-term commitments.

Cardamom had closed the week ending September 25 at Rs 480 a kg. In the following week, price slipped further to Rs 425 per kg. This was the biggest single drop since the new season auctions began on August 18. And this derailed expectations that before Deepawali and Christmas season, prices would hold steady.

Since the auctions began on August 18, enquiries for export to countries in the Gulf region and Japan had propped up the price despite the heavy arrivals.

The total volume of cardamom sold through the auction centres between August 1 and the last week of September rose to 5,09,723 kgs at an average price of Rs 455.32 per kg, while during the same week last year, the sales volume was just about half at 2,63,466 kgs at an average price of Rs 400.53 per kg.