Wayanad: Pepper farmers in South India, now in the final phase of a thin harvest, were in a jubilant mood early this month as prices steadily climbed. Prices, which hovered between ₹680 and ₹700 per kg for garbled and ungarbled varieties until the end of January, even breached the ₹700-mark early in the month.

At the Kochi terminal market, the price of the garbled variety touched ₹728 on February 14, when the week's trade closed.

With the production dropping sharply by 20 to 30 per cent this year due to hostile climatic conditions, most farmers expected prices to continue rising. However, their joy was short-lived as unrestrained imports created a market glut, triggering a price drop. According to data from the India Pepper and Spices Trade Association (IPSTA), prices fell by ₹900 per quintal (100 kg) last week.

Pepper loses charm
As coffee and cardamom prices have risen over the years, many pepper farmers are shifting to these crops. The price of dried coffee berries, which was around ₹80 per kg in 2023–2024, has tripled to ₹200–280 per kg over the last two years. Cardamom has maintained a steady price range of ₹2,500 to ₹4,500 per kg for several years. In contrast, pepper prices have remained between ₹500 and ₹700 for a long time.

Shine Kaduppil, a prominent pepper farmer from Pulppalli, said output from his vines has fallen by more than 50 per cent this year. "I am switching to coffee as the cost of pepper cultivation has increased manyfold due to hostile climatic conditions, and the crop has become more labour-intensive," he said. He also pointed out widespread destruction of pepper vines. "I switched to organic fertilisers to check diseases like quick wilt, but it did not help," he added.

Though Shine tried to protect the plants from excess rainfall by covering the soil around them with plastic and mulching sheets, the effort proved futile. He lost most of the pepper vines in his two-acre plot last year. A few years ago, he had harvested up to 25 quintals (2,500 kg) of pepper from the same land.

Many farmers say that even if pepper fetches ₹1,000 per kg, they may not make any profit from it as vines do not survive long. In most cases, production declines within five to 10 years. Rain patterns also affect production — both excessive and insufficient rainfall affect yield.

Farmers also say that pesticide costs have skyrocketed, and pests have developed resistance to traditional chemicals. New-generation pesticides are extremely expensive, with some priced at ₹500 for just 1 ml.

Highlighting the relative ease of coffee cultivation, Shine said coffee plants are more robust and less labour-intensive. Cardamom, too, can be more profitable with irrigation facilities, though its production cost is also high.

Thin flow to the terminal market
Though pepper harvesting is nearing completion in major growing regions such as Wayanad, the Nilgiris and Coorg, arrivals at the Kochi terminal market remain low.

Market sources said arrivals during the peak harvest season were not encouraging. Only 277 tonne arrived at the terminal market in the week ending February 21, an increase of just 34 tonne from the previous week.

IPSTA Director Kishore Shamji told Onmanorama that demand from masala companies is very high, and suppliers are buying directly from rural pepper-growing regions. This has reduced arrivals at the terminal market.

He said the farm-gate reports indicate that output this year is significantly lower than last year. Earlier, official projections estimated production at 1.1 lakh tonne, but this was revised to 85,000 tonne and later further reduced to around 75,000 tonne, in line with farm-gate assessments.

In Idukki and Wayanad, pepper has increasingly become a secondary crop, with farmers focusing more on cardamom in Idukki and coffee in Wayanad.

Unabated imports
Market experts attribute the recent price decline to excessive imports of cheap, low-quality pepper.

According to IPSTA data, India imported a total of 35,557 tonne of black pepper in 2024 and 29,269 tonne in 2025.

While the country's annual production ranges between 50,000 and 75,000 tonne, India's annual pepper consumption is around 79,000 tonne. Exports during 2024-25 were 19,000 tonne, indicating a wide shortfall between production and internal consumption. This is what importers are eyeing at.

This year, 1,571 tonne of pepper were imported under provisions allowing value addition for re-export. Of this, 585 tonne arrived through Kochi port and 312 tonne through Vallarpadam. Sri Lanka topped the import list in January with 785 tonne, followed by Vietnam with 485 tonne. About 50 per cent of total imports came from Sri Lanka.

These imports are supposed to be re-exported after value addition within six months to one year. However, traders allege that much of the imported pepper is diverted into the domestic market for quick profits, creating excess supply and depressing local prices.