Wednesday 17 December 2014

Speculative buying heats up copra; coconut oil cools

Speculative buying lifted copra prices in Kerala and Tamil Nadu this week, after a continuous fall in the last few sessions.
Copra prices touched Rs. 9,200 a quintal in Kerala against Rs. 8,500 quoted last week, while it went up to Rs.8,800 in Tamil Nadu from Rs. 8,000.
Bharat Khona, former Board Member, Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA), attributed the surge in prices to the speculative buying by a corporate firm. Inspite of that, he said there was no genuine demand either from upcountry buyers or from other corporate companies.
However, Thalath Mahmood, Director, COMA, said that coconut oil market is ruling steady, registering a slight drop in Kerala at Rs. 12,600 a quintal against Rs. 12,700 quoted last week.
But there was a Rs. 600 drop in Tamil Nadu at Rs. 12,200 against the last week level of Rs. 12,800.
According to him, there was no unusual trend in the market and the surge in copra prices was due to the increase in local demand in connection with the Christmas season.
He said that price increase will not sustain and the market is likely to come down in the absence of demand.
The availability of good quality copra from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka with the commencement of the season is expected to revive the market in the New Year.
Corporates are adopting a wait-and-watch mode, he said.

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