India pepper fall on weak spot, low demand

MUMBAI, July 21 (Reuters) - Indian pepper futures fell sharply on Monday tracking a weak spot market and on sluggish export demand due to arrivals in Indonesia and Brazil, analysts said.

Both August and September contract hit the 2 percent initial daily lower price limit.

"A weak spot market due to negligible export demand and lack of buying support from local traders weighed on the sentiment," said Vibhu Ratandhara, an analyst with Bonanza Commodity Brokers Pvt Ltd.

Export demand was weak due to fresh arrivals in Indonesia and Brazil, which started in July.

Profit-taking after a rally in last few days also pulled down the market, said Veeresh Hiremath, an analyst with Karvy Comtrade Ltd.

The benchmark September contract rose more than 6 percent in the last five trading sessions.

However, the market is likely to recover on reports of a fall in production in Vietnam, the largest exporter, and lower rainfall in major growing regions, Hiremath said.

Vietnam has completed harvesting up to 87,000 tonnes of the spice, down from 90,300 tonnes last year, the Vietnam Pepper Association said last week.

The September contract is likely to get support at 14,900 rupees and face resistance at 15,400 rupees, Hiremath said.