India: Garlic Prices Set to Fall in Feb.

Adding a pinch of garlic could make all the difference to your palate and purse as the commodity soars to new heights on the back of a global shortage. Market prices have touched record highs on the back of good domestic and export demand with the Chinese crop said to be low due to climatic problems.
Traders expect the market to ease by February when the new Indian crop reaches market. Retail prices of ginger have increased by 200-300% in a short span of time and on Friday, garlic was quoted at Rs 300- 310 per kg in Madhya Pradesh, while it went above Rs 330-360 in the Mumbai market.
"Prices are at the highest ever level and exports have come down. India has exported a lot of the commodity owing to a global deficit with production in China on the lower side," said Kanubhai Mehta, a prominent Mumbai-based trader.

From being a net importer of garlic, India has turned into a big supplier of garlic in the global market due to a shortfall in the Chinese crop and good domestic production, traders said. Apart from its traditional market of Bangladesh, Indian garlic's are now exported to Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia. According to Spices Board data, garlic exports increased during the last fiscal by 1,314 % in volume terms and 769% in value terms. In the current fiscal, exports are continuing the trend with nearly 15,250 tonne exported during the April -October period alone, registering an increase of 127% over the same period of last fiscal.

"Chinese crop for 2011 is also expected to be bad, raising concerns on the availability for next year. But we hope that good production in India would help in easing the market," Mehta said. Spices Board sources pointed out that Indian used to import nearly 15,000-20,000 tonne of garlic per annum from China due to the good domestic demand. China is the world's largest producer of garlic with more than 60-65% of the total share with India coming second or third with an output of eight lakh tonne. India is also major consumer of garlic with both South and North Indian cuisines featuring it. India produces the small cloved varieties, with a high number of cloves, which the domestic market consumes.

However, for export bigger clove garlic with lesser number of cloves is preferred. Board estimates the 2009-10 garlic production to be around 10 lakh tonne. India's garlic production is expensive due to low productivity, poor genotypes, and high cost of farming. In India garlic is mainly cultivated during winter season and reports indicate a rise in acreage. Demand for garlic is seen increasing rapidly with the higher sales of branded food pickles and curry products. It is also widely used for producing herbal products pastes and medicines .

Source : freshplaza.com