Short supply, demand push up global cloves price

In India, new import costing has put the prices at Rs 450 a kg. Going by current trends, prices may touch Rs 500 a kg soon, say industry insiders. G.K. Nair Kochi, July 21 Fall in production and consequent short supply have pushed up prices of cloves both in the international and Indian market by 30 to 50 per cent during the past fortnight. If the current trend is any indication, traders claim, its prices might shoot up to $8,000 to 10,000 a tonne in the near future. The main reason attributed to this sharp rise in prices is the poor crop in Indonesia which, according to trading sources, is only 10 per cent of its total crop. “Prices have increased from $5,000 to $7,500 a tonne in the season itself. Cigarette companies are buying heavily and will import cloves from Madagascar, Zanzibar, Comoros. They are likely to buyout the... [read full story]