Mumbai Profit-booking of yesterday's sharp gains pulled cuminseed futures sharply down while turmeric and red chilli extended previous weakness and traded slightly lower during initial hours of session on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) Tuesday. Black pepper futures, however, moved marginally up amid short covering of previous losses on the exchange. Coriander futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) continued to lose more and more strength on heavy profit-booking.

CUMINSEED: Profit-booking of yesterday's three per cent gains by traders and speculators pulled cuminseed futures sharply down during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Tuesday. At 10.58 am IST, NCDEX September cuminseed dropped Rs 78 to trade at Rs 11,947/quintal. Benchmark October contract traded down Rs 112 at Rs 11,823/quintal. Volume for September and October contracts was 999 and 2082 tonnes respectively.

Cuminseed traded stronger amid as demand from exporters and domestic traders prevailed at the benchmark spices market Unjha in Gujarat Monday. Traders say the farmers, who were holding back their crop, are now bringing it to the market thus creating selling pressure. Farmers are likely to bring the crop till Diwali. The market saw arrivals of 3,000 bags while 6,000-7,000 bags were traded by the noon. As of September 06, demat stock of cuminseed at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 1,970 tonnes while six tonnes were in processing.

RED CHILLI: Red chilli futures doubled yesterday's losses and traded considerably lower amid continued selling by traders during initial hours of session on the NCDEX Tuesday. At 10.52 am IST, NCDEX October red chilli dropped Rs 42 to trade at Rs 5,230/quintal with a volume of 235 tonnes. Benchmark December red chilli traded down Rs 36 at Rs 5518/quintal with a volume of 80 tonnes.

Spot red chilli prices remained firm at the previous level amid consistent demand from domestic traders and exporters at the benchmark market Guntur in Andhra Pradesh Monday. Around 40,000 bags of red chilli from cold-storage arrived today. As of September 06, demat stocks of red chilli at NCDEX-monitored warehouses were at 1,411 tonnes while zero tonne were in processing.

TURMERIC: Turmeric futures went down the mixed trend of the previous session and slipped into the negative area amid speculative selling during initial hours of trade on the NCDEX Tuesday. At 10.56 am IST, NCDEX October turmeric slipped Rs 19 to trade at Rs 3,678/quintal with a volume of 4130 tonnes. Benchmark December contract traded down Rs 21 at Rs 3,782/quintal with a volume 1970 tonnes.

Spot turmeric prices remained unchanged at major markets Monday as business activities are sluggish in the country due to ongoing Ganeshotsava festival. As of September 06, demat stock of turmeric at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was of 3,069 tonnes. Current stocks of turmeric across the country are said to be of 20 lakh bags. However, some of the traders said the current stocks are only of 15 lakh to 17 lakh bags.

BLACK PEPPER: After hitting three per cent lower circuit yesterday, black pepper futures moved up slowly amid short covering by traders during early hours on the NCDEX Tuesday. At 10.56 am IST, NCDEX September black pepper rose Rs 21 to trade at Rs 13,090/quintal. Benchmark October contract traded up Rs 21 at Rs 13,349/quintal. Volume in September and October contracts was 351 tonnes and 852 tonnes respectively.

Black pepper prices became weaker in the domestic physical market Monday. The absence of demand in the international market has is pressuring the spot prices, but buyers are still staying away from the market. As of September 06, demat stock of black pepper at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 4,688 tonnes while30 tonnes were in process.

CORIANDER: Coriander futures, which hit the lower circuit and ended down near four per cent yesterday, fell sharply further amid continued speculative selling and profit-booking by traders on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) Tuesday. At 10.55 am IST, MCX September coriander lost Rs 140 to trade at Rs 7,950/quintal with a volume of 18 lots. Benchmark October coriander traded down Rs 145 at Rs 8,080/quintal with a volume of 15 lots.