Latest News

Aug
07

Farmer Selling Pressures Jeera, But Premium Grade Scarcity Limits the Fall

Jeera prices eased 0.5% to settle at 20,905, weighed down by a fresh wave of farmer selling and quicker-than-usual arrivals in the market. With Kharif sowing season around the corner, many farmers are offloading existing stocks to raise cash, and favourable weather across North-West India has only made this easier enabling faster harvesting and drying, which in turn has sped up the pace at which fresh produce is hitting mandis.

Adding to the downward pull, stock levels at NCDEX-accredited warehouses have been climbing, giving traders less reason to rush into spot purchases. Meanwhile, spice processors and large industrial buyers have stayed on the sidelines, sticking to need-based, hand-to-mouth buying rather than stocking up in bulk, as many are betting on a further price correction before committing to larger purchases. On the global front, improving crop prospects in Turkey and Syria have also chipped away at Indian export premiums, with markets now pricing in the likelihood of higher worldwide supplies.

Even so, the decline hasn’t been a one-way street, as several factors continue to cushion prices from falling further. Premium-grade bold jeera remains in short supply, with export-quality, residue-compliant stock becoming increasingly hard to source. Daily arrivals at major trading hubs like Unjha and parts of Rajasthan have started thinning out, pointing to tightening availability of top-quality material. Compounding this, blight disease affecting crops in parts of Gujarat has further squeezed the pool of export-worthy jeera. This season’s overall production is also expected to fall short of last year’s numbers, with output pegged at around 90-92 lakh bags, well below the nearly 1.10 crore bags harvested previously, largely due to a smaller sowing area this time around.

On the export side, momentum has been noticeably weak, with May shipments falling 26% year-on-year and the April-May period seeing a 22% decline overall. That said, rising demand from newer markets like Singapore, Mexico, Yemen, and Poland has helped soften the blow from sluggish sales to India’s more traditional buyers. Ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East, along with a cautious buying stance from Chinese importers, has further kept a lid on export growth.

From a technical standpoint, the market shows clear signs of long liquidation, with open interest dropping over 8.6%, suggesting traders are unwinding existing bullish bets. Immediate support is now placed at 20,830, followed by a deeper cushion at 20,740, while resistance stands at 21,050 a level that, if convincingly cleared, could open the door for prices to push toward 21,180.