Date:06/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/10/06/stories/2006100604221300.htm

Back IPC members urged to raise offtake

G.K. Nair

Kochi , Oct. 5

The 34th International Pepper Community (IPC) has reiterated that domestic consumption of pepper and its value added products should be enhanced in the member countries by venturing into its new usages.

Withholding stocks

According to IPC sources, the session, held recently in Kandy, Sri Lanka, also suggested that to prevent flooding of the market with pepper supplies during specific periods, the capacity to hold stocks must be strengthened. Hence, a mechanism for short term withholding of stocks, such as warehouse receipt schemes, should be in place, operated either by private sector or the Government.

Other decisions of the session included rehabilitation and replanting of pepper would be encouraged in a sustainable manner in the producing countries.

In the long term, this would mean lowering of the production cost and more efficient pepper production.

Besides, price differentiation by quality is very important to encourage farmers to remove low quality pepper out of the supply chain.

The low quality pepper should be dealt with separately and not enter into the current supply-chain.

Price and market information should be made available to farmers and market intermediaries in an open and transparent manner.

IPC and the relevant agencies in producing countries are focusing their efforts on promoting more sustainable, lower cost production technologies which will have the added benefit of providing safer pepper products for consumers, the sources said.