Cochin Spices 'cracks' Pepper in Paris.
cochinspices.com
cochinspices.com
cochinspices.com
Cochin Spices exports cracked, ground pepper to EU
Our Correspondent (BL)
PARIS, Oct. 7
COCHIN Spices Ltd, the fully-owned subsidiary of the Australian transnational, Burns Philp and Co., introduced cracked and ground pepper of varying sizes at the 14th Food Ingredients Europe exhibition in Paris last week.
"We had been selling this product in the US for the last one-and-a-half years. We have been getting repeat orders. The tests we did in Europe were to our advantage. So, we have introduced the product which can satisfy the requirements of the industry here", said the company's Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Philip.
He said the cracked and powder pepper was directly used by meat, cheese, sauce, soup and seasoning sectors of the food industry. "They can import whole pepper and crack it in the way they like, but labour is expensive in Europe. So, it is advantageous for them to buy our products," Mr. Philip told Business Line.
The company has been exporting steam sterilised black pepper for the last few years. "The main advantage is cost. We sell black pepper at around $5,500 a tonne and charge $350 for steam sterilisation. In Europe, only the Netherlands has the facility for steam sterilisation, but anyone using this facility incurs up to $500 a tonne. So, it is cheap to buy from us", said Mr. R. Ramkumar, Manager (Business Development).
He, however, regretted that cut-throat competition among the Indian exporters threatened the very survival of the global trade in pepper. Citing a specific instance, he said in November last, the market ruled at $4,700 a tonne, but some speculators contracted the futures for March delivery at $4,400 thinking that the prices would drop. This affected the regular business as some importers were demanding such low prices.
"Most established corporates refused to budge and had to defer booking orders. But those who booked at lower rates could not fulfill their commitments as prices rose to $5,500. How could someone buy at this rate and sell at some $1,100-a-tonne loss?" asked Mr. Ramkumar.
Non-fulfilment of the commitment would lead to penalty and create an adverse opinion about the country as a reliable supplier of quality spices, he said.
Mr. Philip said the company's turnover in 1999-2000 was expected to be Rs. 35 crores against Rs. 28 crores last year. "We are sure to reach this because of increased volume of chilli and pepper exports", he said. |
