India pepper rise on low arrivals, firm Vietnam price

MUMBAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Indian pepper futures rose on Thursday on tight supplies and talk of a price hike in Vietnam, the largest producer, analysts said.

"Supply is almost nil in the market as farmers are not selling on hopes of further price rise," said Alex Mathews, head of research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

Arrivals in the physical market were about 10-15 tonnes this week, compared with about 20 tonnes last week, said Ajit Khona, a Kochi-based trader.

Declining worldwide production and a sharp fall in carryover stocks is indicating a long-awaited bull run, analysts said.

Global production this year is estimated at 259,000 tonnes, while consumption would be 305,000 tonnes, according to figures released by the Vietnam Pepper Association in May.

The talk of price hike in Vietnam, the largest producer and exporter, also boosted sentiment, said Faiyaz Hudani, an analyst with Kotak Commodity Services Ltd.

Open interest for September contract rose to 10,635 tonnes from 9,182 tonnes the previous session.

Spot pepper rose 1.3 percent to 14,490 rupees per 100 kg in spices hub of Kochi in Kerala.

Following are the closing prices of pepper futures in rupees per 100 kg on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd. <0#NPE:>: