Spices Board moots direct marketing of cardamom  ( June '26,2004, HBL)

STCL will find the buyers and market it through its channels in the country and abroad.

THE Spices Board is mooting the idea of direct marketing of cardamom through the State Trading Corporation Ltd (STCL) to ensure that the farmers get better price for their produce.

The Board would discuss the matter at a meeting with all concerned parties involved in the cardamom production, processing and marketing, likely to be held by mid-July at Bodinayakannur in Tamil Nadu, board sources told Business Line. Discussions are also on with the STCL authorities on the modalities to be followed, they said.

The growers would supply superior grades of cardamom to the Board, which would fix a premium price for the produce depending upon its quality and market trend. STCL would find the buyers and market it through its channels in the country and abroad at a higher price. The profit after paying the operational cost to the STCL would be pooled for promotional activities, they said.

The idea is to save them from exploitation by the intermediaries, they pointed out. At present, between the producer and the end-user there are a number of middlemen and this has to be eliminated. The Board feels that if the grower could sell their produce through its channel the latter would get a better price, they said. Besides, it would function as a market intervention mechanism, they said. Its entry into direct marketing would not affect the sales through the present auction system, they added.

Cardamom production in the country is estimated at around 11,000 tonnes and the yield per hectare from well-managed plantations has gone up to 2,500 kg a hectare from 125 kg in 1987. Hence, there would be sufficient quantity of graded varieties for the proposed direct marketing by the Board, they said.