AGRI WRAP-India farm commodities drop; fears of trade curbs weigh

MUMBAI, July 26 (Reuters) - Indian sugar declined more than a percent on Thursday on concerns about restrictions on futures trading and imposition of stock limits by the government, analysts said.

* "We are going to be very alert. We are going to be very watchful," Ramesh Abhishek, chairman of the Forward Markets Commission told reporters on Thursday after meeting Food Minister K.V. Thomas.

"We are keeping a watch on all agri-commodities," he said, when asked which commodities are under scanner. "We will ban if need be."

* The key August contract on India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange closed down 1.1 percent at 3,325 rupees per 100 kg. It hit a contract high of 3,395 rupees earlier this week.

* In the Kolhapur spot market in top producing Maharashtra state, sugar rose 49 rupees to 3,417 rupees per 100 kg.

CHANA

Chana futures fell due to a decline in spot demand at higher prices while fears of government restrictions also weighed on sentiment.

* The most-active chana for August delivery on the NCDEX fell 2.35 percent to close at 4,618 rupees per 100 kg.

* "Trend looks bearish in the near-term because of a drop in demand and concerns over government intervention," said Faiyaz Hudani, a senior analyst at Kotak Commodities.

* In the Delhi spot market, chana fell 135 rupees to 4,775 rupees per 100 kg.

OILSEEDS AND SOYOIL

Indian oilseeds and soyoil futures fell, tracking a drop in the world market and as rainfall in top soybean producing Madhya Pradesh state in the past two days allayed concerns over poor yields.

* Malaysian crude palm oil fell to its lowest in more than five weeks on Thursday, as investors turned more bearish on forecasts for rain in parts of the U.S. Midwest that could bring some relief to the drought-hit soy crop.

* A strong rupee, which makes edible oil imports cheaper and at the same time trims the returns of oilmeal exporters, also weighed on sentiment. The Indian rupee rose 1.2 percent on Thursday.

* The August soybean contract finished down 3.76 percent at 4,635.5 rupees per 100 kg, after hitting a peak of 5,064.5 rupees last week.

* The August soyoil contract edged down 1.44 percent to 787.45 rupees per 10 kg, after hitting a peak of 813.4 last week, while rapeseed eased 1.65 percent to 4,413 rupees per 100 kg.

* In the Indore spot market in Madhya Pradesh, soyoil eased 3.3 rupees to 783.3 rupees per 10kg, while soybean edged down by 9 rupees to 4,722 rupees per 100 kg. At Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, rapeseed fell 50 rupees to 4,325 rupees per 100 kg.

SPICES

India's jeera, or cumin seed, futures retreated from a fresh contract high hit early in the day as traders chose to book profits after a 4 percent rise in the previous session.

* The August jeera contract on the NCDEX ended 3 percent lower at 16,237.5 rupees per 100 kg after touching a fresh contract high of 16,915 rupees.

* At Unjha, a key spot market in Gujarat, jeera rose 12 rupees to 16,317 rupees per 100 kg.

* "Buying in spot was good because of overseas demand. In futures, prices fell due to profit-taking but will recover from dips as the trend is bullish," said Samir Mahendra Shah, a trader from Unjha.

TURMERIC

Turmeric futures hit a fresh contract high but soon shed the gains as traders cashed out profits triggered by an increase in margins on the long side.

* India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has raised special margin on the long side of turmeric contracts to 40 percent from the existing 20 percent, effective Friday, according to a notification posted on its website.

* The August turmeric contract on the NCDEX fell 4 percent to 6,256 rupees per 100 kg, after touching a contract high of 6,748 rupees earlier in the day.

* "Increased margins are weighing on sentiment. Prices are at very high levels and some correction was expected. However, slow progress of rains could help lower-level buying," said Suresh Chowdhary, a trader from Nizamabad, a key spot market in Andhra Pradesh.

* At Nizamabad, turmeric fell 59 rupees to 5,798 rupees per 100 kg.

PEPPER

Pepper futures ended lower tracking weak cues from spot and sluggish overseas demand but poor domestic availability restricted the downside.

* The most-active August contract on the NCDEX ended 1.30 percent down at 43,590 rupees per 100 kg.

* "Prices have become very volatile. In long run trend looks positive but weak exports and fresh supplies from Indonesia in the global market are weighing on sentiment," said Manikant Khona, a trader from Kochi,a key market in Kerala.

* In Kochi, spot pepper fell 269 rupees to 42,194 rupees. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav, Meenakshi Sharm and Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Sunil Nair)