Madikeri: The prices of pepper are set to escalate soon and growers should remain optimistic, said Konkodi Padmanabha, Convenor, Consortium Of Pepper Growers Organisation (COPGO) in a press release.

The prices are hovering around Rs 350 per kg because of continuous inflow and abundant availability of pepper in the local market. Model code of conduct in force due to assembly elections has resulted in cash crunch thereby compounding the problems of growers, Padmanabha stated.

“During the last few days, an incremental increase in the prices of pepper in the international market has been noticed. In addition, China has shown lot of interest in the import of pepper from Vietnam. This apart, CAPGO’s efforts to rein in large-scale imports by imposing restrictions through Enforcement Directorate (ED) too is paying rich dividends. Low quality imports have reduced drastically in the recent past”, explained Padmanabha listing out the reasons for the expected increase in the prices of pepper in the near future.

Growers should remain optimistic as the downward trend in prices is likely to reverse leading to escalation, stated the press release issued jointly by CAPGO Convener Konkodi Padmanabha and Coordinator K K Vishwanath.