KATHMANDU, Dec 30: The price of cardamom has exceeded Rs 110,000 per mann (40 kg) during the season, marking the highest price in the last 12 years.
According to the Cardamom Development Center, the price of cardamom has increased due to decrease in production. The center’s head, Rajan Pariyar, said that the price of cardamom is at its highest in the past 12 years.
Pariyar said that just a week ago farmers were getting up to Rs 114, 000 per quintal. Although the price has slightly fallen this week, it is still the highest in the last 12 years, he said. According to him, the cardamom production has dropped by 25 to 30 percent this year.
Last season, the price of cardamom started at Rs 45,000 per quintal and reached up to Rs 90,000 during the off-season.
Farmers worried as cardamom prices fall
Despite the drop in production, the price increase has led to higher earnings from exports. Similarly, farmers have started to hold after getting good prices.
In the first five months of the current fiscal year 2024/2025, around Rs 3.45 billion worth of 2,074,865 kg of cardamom have been exported. In the same period last year, cardamom worth Rs 3 billion was exported.
Nirmal Bhattrai, the President of the Federation of large cardamom Entrepreneurs of Nepal, said that due to a decrease in production, cardamom is being traded at over Rs 110,000 per mann during the season.
He said that the cardamom production this fiscal year is 1,000 metric tons less than last year. The price increase is due to this drop in production. Farmers are receiving over Rs 110,000 per mann based on the quality of the cardamom.
Last year, the country produced 5,000 metric tons of cardamom, but this year, it is estimated that the production will be around 4,000 metric tons. According to Bhattarai, 40 percent of the produced cardamom has already been exported. The exports have gone to countries like India, the UAE, and Qatar.
Around 20 percent of the cardamom is being held by farmers themselves. They have started drying and storing it at home, expecting the price to rise further after the off-season. Only 4 percent of the cardamom is consumed domestically.
The price increase this year is also due to reduced production in India and Bhutan. Bhattarai said that Nepali farmers have become wealthy due to reduced production in India and Bhutan. However, cardamom production in Nepal has been declining every year. The head of the center, Pariyar said that diseases, pests, and lack of rain during the blooming season are affecting the production.
Cardamom is cultivated in over 50 districts of the country. Among them, there are 20 districts where cardamom is cultivated commercially.
