Urge the government to take necessary steps to curb the increasing import of black pepper

19-May-2025 04:36 PM

Kochi. Producers and traders from Kerala and Karnataka have raised serious concerns over the growing import of black pepper from abroad, particularly from Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

They have urged the Central Government to take immediate and effective steps to control the situation. The producers and traders are demanding a review of the duty-free import policy under the India-Sri Lanka bilateral trade agreement and are calling for new negotiations with the Sri Lankan government.

They also want a fresh minimum import price (MIP) to be fixed for black pepper based on the current international market conditions, and a stricter monitoring system to track imports.

According to a trader based in Chennai, the large-scale import of cheap black pepper from Sri Lanka and Vietnam is hurting domestic prices.

He noted that black pepper from Sri Lanka is arriving at Indian ports at Rs 650 per kg and being sold in the retail market at Rs 675 per kg. In contrast, the price of Indian garbled black pepper stands at Rs 700 per kg. Despite a 5 percent decline in domestic prices over the last three weeks, domestic spice manufacturers continue to prefer cheaper imported pepper over the local variety.

Other buyers are also holding back purchases in anticipation of further price drops, which has led to a slowdown in trading activity in major producing markets.

The supply of the new black pepper crop from Sri Lanka is expected to begin next month, which could lead to a further surge in imports.

Under the current agreement, Sri Lankan pepper can be imported duty-free into India up to a limit of 2,500 tonnes, and even beyond this limit, the import duty is just 8 percent.

The domestic industry is urging the government to reconsider these terms in order to protect local growers and traders from further financial losses