Castor seed prices have traded in the range of Rs. 3600 – Rs. 4200/quintal in 2015. The prices have remained range-bound till October due to a comfortable supply situation. The week rupee and lower prices led to healthy demand and hence the seed prices increased to Rs. 4200/quintal in November, tracking good export demand to China and EU in the latter half of the year.
Prices have increased to Rs. 4215/quintal in November, compared to seasonal low of Rs. 3500/quintal in February 2015. It is expected that the prices will trade in the range of Rs. 4000 – Rs. 4300/quintal before the new crop arrivals pick up in February 2016. (Read more from here)
The average prices for each month are presented below.
| 2015 | 2014 | ||
| Month | Rs./Quintal | Month | Rs./Quintal |
| Jan 2015 | 4486.6 | Jan 2014 | 4275.6 |
| Feb 2015 | 4013.5 | Feb 2014 | 4079.4 |
| Mar 2015 | 3646.8 | Mar 2014 | 4193.3 |
| Apr 2015 | 3631.3 | Apr 2014 | 3947.7 |
| May 2015 | 3830.6 | May 2014 | 3916.6 |
| Jun 2015 | 4021.8 | Jun 2014 | 4078 |
| July 2015 | 3991.1 | Jul 2014 | 4241.7 |
| Aug 2015 | 3992.6 | Aug 2014 | 4247.7 |
| Sep 2015 | 4160.1 | Sep 2014 | 4096 |
| Oct 2015 | 4115.3 | Oct 2014 | 4527.8 |
| Nov 2015 | 4215.2 | Nov 2014 | 4731.3 |
| Dec 2015 | 3920.8 | Dec 2014 | 4612 |
Yearly average prices:
2014 – Rs.4245/quintal
2015 – Rs.4002.1/quintal
Some observations:
- Starting with a high of Rs 4500/quintal, the lowest price reached during the year (about Rs 3600/quintal) is almost 20% lower than the highest price during the year.
- Even though the price almost touched Rs 3600/quintal during 2015, we can see that it has remained almost at or above Rs 4000/quintal for most of the months (9/12 months, it has been Rs 3900 and above), so one can say that Rs 40/Kg (and for a few months above 40) was the dominant price of castor seeds during 2015.
- In 2014, though the prices have started off at a price lower than 2015, the price trend has remained somewhat stable during February to June compared to 2015. During the end of the year, in the months of Oct to Dec, the prices have reached very high compared to 2015. The prices have been above Rs.40/kg except for two months.
- When we compare the yearly average prices, the average price for 2014 is Rs.4245/quintal, while that for 2015 is Rs.4002.1/quintal which shows a 5.7% reduction in price in 2015.
