India chilli futures drop on subdued export demand

MUMBAI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Indian chilli futures dropped in
lower volume trade on Monday as exporters trimmed buying in the
physical market, analysts said.

"Exporters were not buying as actively as they were earlier
this month," said an analyst at Mumbai-based commodity
brokerage.

Chilli exports remained almost steady at 109,000 tonnes
during Apr-Sept.

In Guntur, a major spot market in Andhra Pradesh, the price
fell by 53 rupees to 5,611 rupees per 100 kg. Festive demand
from domestic buyers capped losses, said a senior analyst at
SMC Comtrade.

Indians will celebrate Diwali, a major Hindu festival, next
week, when demand for spices usually rises.

Chilli acreage in 2008/09 may fall by up to 10 percent as
some farmers have diverted area under the spice to the more
lucrative cotton, traders and analysts said last month.

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

Contract Reuters code Closing price Change in %

===========================================================

Oct NCBV8 5,007 -3.79

Dec NCBZ8 5,416 -2.17

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Harish Nambiar)