Mumbai - Extending losses of the previous session, black pepper went down sharply amid heavy speculative selling and profit-booking during the early hours of the trade on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange [NCDEX] Tuesday. Red chilli futures were moving upward slowly while jeera futures witnessing a mixed trend with movement on both sides. Turmeric futures surrendered previous gains and were trading down on the exchange.

Black pepper futures, which had crumbled during the previous session, continued the weakness and traded sharply down during the early trade Tuesday. At 10.34 am IST, benchmark December-07 black pepper collapsed Rs 188 to trade at Rs 12,501/quintal, while January-08 futures tumbled Rs 133 to trade at Rs 12,813/quintal. Volume in Dec-07 and Jan-08 contracts was 61 tonnes and 1038 tonnes respectively.

Earlier, at the spot markets Monday, black pepper traded steady at the main market Kochi. Traders said, importers from US and Europe were in vacation mood for Christmas, and their enquiries will start next month. Ungarbled pepper traded at Rs 12,600/quintal at Kochi spot. MG-1 grade was quoted at Rs 13,200/quintal.

The International Pepper Community [IPC] has estimated black pepper production in Vietnam down to 80,000 tonnes while the Indian output has been estimated at 45,000-50,000 tonnes during the new season. The IPC estimated the global stocks of black pepper down by 55,000 tonnes in 2008. Traders say, these estimates show that black pepper in the international market will not trade below $3000/tonne next season.

Red chilli futures were continuing with the upward move, though slowly, amid buying during the early hours on the domestic exchange. At 10.33 am IST, February-08 red chilli contract was up Rs 15 at Rs 3890/quintal with a volume of 285 tonnes. March-08 futures rose Rs two to trade at Rs 3748/quintal with a volume of 70 tonnes.

Spot red chilli traded up by Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal at the main market Guntur in Andhra Pradesh Monday. Around 15,000 bags of red chilli arrived at Guntur market while a similar quantity was traded. Exporters provided boost to the sales by purchasing 8000 bags. Enquiries from exporters are persisting in the market, said local traders. The new crop of red chilli is expected to arrive in Andhra Pradesh markets after two months. Therefore, the spot prices of red chilli are likely to be higher in the near future.

Failing to get support from the steady spot prices, jeera futures were trading mixed on the NCDEX Tuesday. At 10.22 am IST, benchmark December-07 futures slipped Rs 42 to trade at Rs 9520/quintal with 15 tonnes contracted. January-08 futures rose Rs 13 to trade at Rs 9820/quintal with a volume of 387 tonnes.

Jeera traded steady at the main market Unjha in Gujarat and Jodhpur in Rajasthan amid lack of enquiries from exporters. Traders and importers from Singapore were in vacation mood for Christmas and would start enquiries next month. Traders in Gujarat returned to business after the recently concluded State Assembly elections, traders said.

Shedding the sharp gains of the previous session, turmeric futures slipped to the red zone amid profit-booking on the NCDEX. At 10.32 am IST, more-active December-07 turmeric was trading down Rs 17 at Rs 2426/quintal with 380 tonnes contracted. April-08 contract was down Rs 19 to trade at Rs 2727/quintal with a volume of 4780 tonnes.

Spot turmeric traded stronger at main market Sangli. Spot prices were higher on reports that the next turmeric crop was estimated to decline by 30%, resulting in less availability in the country. Turmeric prices in the new season are likely to open at Rs 3000/quintal.