Kochi is set to spring back to the centre of the Rs.
1,000-crore pepper business in the country with the Forward Markets
Commission (FMC) permitting the city-based India Pepper and Spice Trade
Association (Ipsta) to re-launch futures trading.
FMC
is the chief regulator of forwards and futures markets in India, and
Ipsta, with100 members and 140 non-member clients, represents the
swelling pepper business in the country.
Futures
trading in pepper, an iconic product of Kochi, was suspended in December
last year after Food Safety and Standards Authority of India seized
8,000 tonnes of pepper reportedly for the presence of mineral oil, which
is used to polish bad quality produce.
FMC order on
May 15 to the Ipsta president permitted it to resume futures till
December. Ipsta’s performance in conducting trading will be evaluated
after December. For now, Kochi’s credentials as the futures trading hub
for pepper stands to be tested, said Jojan Malayil, former president of
Ipsta and a veteran in the business. Over the last six months Ipsta,
which is nearly 60 years old, and the Spices Board have been trying to
convince the regulator that the quality issue could be addressed.
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