Cardamom price leaps on high demand
Cardamom price hike in India affects Bangladesh as the country largely depends on its neighbour for the spice
Cardamom price has gone up by more than Tk600 per kilogram in just one month owing to high demand for the spice.
The spice is currently being sold for Tk3,000-3,500 per kilogram.
Bangladesh primarily depends on cardamom import from India and also from Guatemala in Central America.
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Cardamom price leapt 35 percent in India in the beginning of October this year due to low production and supply. The hike prompted the neighbouring country to import the spice from Guatemala.
India's unstable market and import move shook up Bangladesh with a cardamom hike nearly to 20 percent in only two months.
Local wholesalers said being a larger country, India has a strong and steady demand for cardamom. Kerala and Tamil Nadu state of the neighbouring country cultivate the spice. However, flooding forced the country to switch to import last year.
With two importers at the doorstep, Guatemala also raised the price of cardamom. Bangladesh has a demand for 4,000-5,000 tonnes of cardamom annually and most of it depends on import.
State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh said the retail price has soared to Tk3,500 from Tk2,400-3,000 within the span of two months.
While the year-on-year hike has hit around 83 percent. Cardamom was being sold for Tk1,550 to Tk2,000 just one year ago.
