Farmers are excited after cardamom prices increase

By Kabiraj Ghimire

Hile, Sept. 8: Cardamom farmers of Dhankuta are happy after getting good price for cardamom which has been low for a long time. Currently, the price of cardamom is Rs. 84,000 per man (40 kgs). 

Although the new production of cardamom has started, the farmers said that they were happy to get a good price. 

Nirmal Syangden, a cardamom farmer of Pakhribas Municipality-2, said that they were happy as the price of cardamom did not decrease even though new harvesting of cardamom has started.  In the past, after the farmer's production ended, the price increased and it decreased as soon as the production started. "Farmers have not been able to recover their investment for the past few years, but this year, we have received a good price," said Syangden. 

Another farmer Bal Bahadur Adhikari said that they were happy that the price of cardamom, which started rising from last year, has remained constant this year as well. In the year 2071 B.S., the price of cardamom had reached Rs. 120,000 per man, but since then it has been continuously decreasing. 

Shyam Shah, a cardamom trader of Hile, said that the price of cardamom, which dropped to Rs. 60,000 per man in the year 2074 B.S., was traded at an average of Rs. 25,000 until last December.  

However, the price of cardamom has been increasing steadily from the beginning of 2024, he said. He said that last year it reached about Rs. 60,000 per man.  Shah argued that the price increased after the production was low and the big businessmen started buying and stocking cardamom.

According to Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Dhankuta, it is estimated that the price may have increased due to the assessment of reduction in production. 

As the market of cardamom depends on India, only if the production in India decreases, Nepali cardamom will get good price, said Nagendra Rana, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Dhankuta. The cardamom has been cultivated in Dhankuta for about four decades. 

In the district, 36 tonnes of cardamom is produced from an area of about 112 hectares. In the fiscal year 2017/18, there cardamom was cultivated in the largest area and produced in highest quantity in Dhankuta.  According to the data, in the fiscal year 2017/18, 134 tonnes of cardamom was produced from an area of 230 hectares. Since then, the 

production of cardamom has been continuously declining due to the outbreak of various diseases.