International pepper market has been showing a softening trend following the decline in Vietnam pepper prices from $2,900 to $2,450 per tonne on increased arrivals.

However, there are contradictory reports that prices will come back to original levels because of higher production globally, traders said.

There are also reports of selling good quantity of Sri Lankan commodity to Indian importers, especially from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, said Kishore Shamji of Kishor Spices. Sri Lankan light pepper with piperine content of more than 12 per cent are being sold to extraction units, while heavier berries at cheaper rates are sold to importers at the contract price of MIP for documentation purpose.

According to Shamji, the domestic pepper farming community is concerned over Vietnam imports with certification of 6 per cent piperine content. This clearly confirms that the Spices Board laboratory is receiving a different sample than the ones drawn by the Customs, he alleged. As per the stipulated conditions, Vietnam pepper should have 6 per cent piperine content.

These anomalies are a concern for the domestic farming community and the government should look into it whether DGFT directions are violated in this case, he said.

A spice exporter said that Vietnam has witnessed a 50 per cent rise in production in the first week of May and the prices started dropping by 20 per cent in the last fortnight from the peak.

Meanwhile, spot prices at the Kochi pepper market remained steady at ₹315/kg on an off-take of 34 tonnes.

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