Last Updated : 06 March 2013 at 12:50 IST
The picture looks a bit hazy.
However, reliable sources have confirmed that officials from Cardex, a Guatemalan cardamom business, were at the auction centre in Puttady Spices Park yesterday in Kerala, South India. Once the Cardaex officials were identified--the farmers seemed to have got advance information in this regard—they were sent back from the auction centre. The auction stood frozen for half-an-hour.
The farmers accused that the Guatemalan group was there to promote Guatemalan cardamom. Now, even if that turns out to be true, what is wrong with this in an era of globalization; where we refer the term markets in an international sense rather than a local sense.
Sources reported that the Cardex officials—the Managing Director of the Group, Cardex's Bombay head and Dubai head—were there at the Puttady Spices Park to attend the cardamom auction (who wanted to have a first-hand experience of it as there are no auctions in Guatemala; a guess).
They have left Kerala on farmer pressure, but looks like have put up for the time being in Tamil Nadu.
“We seem to say Adithi Devo Bhava and do the opposite.” said a Spices Board Official who was asked about the issue.
“It is not true that the cardamom from Guatemala has been mixed with the Indian cardamom and put for auctions.” said another stakeholder who rubbished the argument doing rounds.
The stakeholder, in fact said that the Cardex officials were there to see if they could actually prop the prices up.
This could not be independently verified and prima facie does not stand any test of logic. If they were there to see if they could inflate the prices, what incentive does it provide for? After all, “It is not true that the cardamom from Guatemala has been mixed with the Indian cardamom and put for auctions.”
So what is the issue? Nothing!
“See, the Spices Park is also a tourist destination. Who could say if they were actually there or not and on what basis?” a Spices Board official asked. “Also, one should not forget the fact that Indians are involved in cardamom cultivation in Guatemala.” the official revealed.
Meanwhile Rejimon Njallani, an activist-farmer said that the whole issue exists to bring the prices down.
The Spices Board on Monday warned about “misleading reports about Guatemala cardamom imports to India causing a fall in prices”.
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