Quintal = 100 Kg.
Castor Oil & Cake Prices
| Castor Oil | Castor Cake | |
| Closing Price (Rs / quintal ) | 8,700 | 835 |
| Previous Day Closing Price (Rs / quintal ) | – | – |
Castor Seed Futures
| Month | Price (Rs/ quintal) |
| March | 4183 |
| April | 4221 |
| May | 4290 |
| June | 4365 |
| July | 4452 |
Castor Oil & Cake Prices
| Castor Oil | Castor Cake | |
| Closing Price (Rs / quintal ) | 8,700 | 835 |
| Previous Day Closing Price (Rs / quintal ) | 8,700 | 825 |
Castor Seed Futures
| Month | Price (Rs/ quintal) |
| March | 4255 |
| April | 4304 |
| May | 4369 |
| June | 4449 |
| July | 4560 |
Castorseed prices tumbled by Rs 81 to Rs 4,522 per quintal in future trading on 11th March following selling by traders in line with weak spot and overseas markets sentiment.
Marketmen said increased supply and slackness in demand in physical markets mainly led to the fall in futures prices of castorseed.
Easing export on falling demand in overseas markets also influenced the market sentiment, they said.
At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, castorseed prices for July contract drifted Rs 81, or 1.76 per cent, to Rs 4,522 per quintal, in an open interest of 4,600 lots.
March contract dipped by Rs 59, or 1.38 per cent, to Rs 4,217 per quintal, with an open interest of 32,720 lots.
Most active April contract fell by Rs 60, or 1.38 per cent, to Rs 4,286 per quintal, clocking an open interest of 1,87,950 lots.
With a crop size of just Rs 6,000 crore, castor seed is among the most traded commodities on India’s largest farm futurestrading platform, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).
Castor seed’s monthly turnover on the NCDEX is double the crop size due to high volatility and rising prices. There has been a spurt in trading interest over the last three months and in two of them it has been the most traded commodity on the bourse.
Guar used to be most traded commodity on the NCDEX but after curbs on excessive speculation, the counter lost sheen. Over the last year refined soya oil has been the most traded but in December-January castor seed provided over 20 per cent of the exchange’s volume. In February it fell to 15 per cent.
Data collated by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the commodity market regulator, showed castor seed contributed 27 per cent of the NCDEX turnover at Rs 104,549.87 crore in December 2013. “Castor seed is one of the more liquid contracts on the exchange. The increased turnover over the past three months reflects the underlying fundamentals.
The state government and trade bodies have estimated low castor seed production in India for 2013-14, based on which, Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU) has predicted castor prices may rise from March to May.
The Department of Agricultural Economics at JAU analysed the historical monthly price data of castor collected from Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Patan. Based on the econometric analysis of castor price and in consultation with the National Agricultural Innovation Project, Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, it has been noticed that the prices of castor may remain in the range between Rs 760 and Rs 860 per 20 kg from March to May this year. “The farmers must take note of this, take their own decision to store castor and sell after May 2014. Keeping the situation in view, if export opportunities continue to remain better, there are chances that prices may go up in future days,” Maganlal Dhandhalya, associate research scientist at Department of Agricultural Economics in JAU, said.
Expecting less production and strong export demand supported by weak Indian rupee, castor price started rising from Rs 700 per 20 kg in first week of November 2013 and touched Rs 900 per 20 kg in third week of December 2013. Currently, it is priced at Rs 800 per 20 kg in various markets of Gujarat.
According to the study, export of castor oil increased over 10 per cent per annum for this year from last two years and is likely around 5.80 lakh tonnes. The domestic consumption is estimated to be about 1.50 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, which indicates that, total expected production of current will be utilized. Indian castor seed production declined from a record high of 2.29 million tonnes in 2011-12 to 1.96 million tonnes in 2012-13 and is further likely to fall about 1.64 million tonnes (as per second advance estimate dated 14-02-2014) in 2013-14, as the area under the crop shrunk from 1.47 million hectares in 2011-12 to 9,84,000 lakh hectares in 2013-14. This has been attributed to low castor prices of Rs 700 per 20 kg from March, 2012 over the last two years.
Castorseed prices dropped by Rs 66 to Rs 4,360 per quintal in futures trade on 28th Feb on profit booking by traders at existing higher levels.
Marketmen said profit-booking by speculators amid a weakening spot market trend mainly influenced the sentiment.
At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, castorseed prices for June contract dipped by Rs 66, or 1.49 per cent, to Rs 4,360 per quintal, with an open interest of 9,310 lots.
Most active March contract fell by Rs 46, or 1.10 per cent, to Rs 4,213 per quintal, having an open interest of 1,33,440 lots.
THE MINISTRY of Agriculture and Fisheries of Manchester has embarked on a drive to have a sustained production of castor oil beans in the island to meet the demand of local and overseas markets.
Castor oil beans are used to manufacture a wide variety of products, including lubricants, plastics, paints, and hair and skin care ointments. The early Egyptians used it to protect their bodies from the dry desert windstorms, while in Jamaica, it is best known as a laxative to keep the bowels clean and as a hair treatment. This will be the first time that the Manchester government will be moving to have the castor plant, that grows wildly in many parishes, commercially grown as part of the productive sector
Interested farmers
During a launch of the effort at the office of the Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) in Mandeville, Manchester, more than 100 small farmers turned up to participate in the programme.
Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, who addressed the group, told them that the production of castor oil beans presents a new opportunity to increase their earnings. Member of Parliament for south Manchester, Michael Peart, said castor oil requires low maintenance and “has the potential to alleviate the economic stress” most small farmers are experiencing.
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Castor market fundamentals are tightening with seed production falling and exports rising. India is the world’s largest producer and crusher of castorseed and also the largest exporter of castor oil, accounting for close to 90 per cent of world production and trade.
There are two sets of seed production data – one by the Agriculture Ministry and the other from crop survey sponsored by Solvent Extractors’ Association.
While there is no unanimity within the trade on castorseed production data, the trend is clear – seed production has continued to fall for the second consecutive year after rising to a record 2011-12.
Falling inventories
While seed production is falling, castor oil export has been rising steadily for the last four years. From 4 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2011-12, shipments increased to 4.3 lt in 2012-13 and further to 3.7 lt in the first nine months of fiscal 2013-14, with projected export for the whole year placed at 4.6 lt. Rising oil exports also imply that large inventory of seed that was built up in the last two years are being crushed to produce oil. So, inventories are falling.
At the recently-concluded Global Castor Conference 2014 in Ahmedabad, one message that stood out clearly was that the castor market fundamentals are tightening and thanks to improved global economic outlook, prices have the potential to increase sharply.
The emerging scenario will benefit castorseed growers who have been, in a sense, short-changed by speculative forces in physical and futures markets. Castorseed prices have hovered around ₹4,000-4,200 a quintal, far below the potential price that they can command given India’s dominant position in the world market.
According to Atul Chaturvedi, CEO, Adani Wilmar Ltd, India exported close to 5 lt of castor oil in 2013 and this year, prospects of a 5 per cent rise in shipments are high. China has emerged as a major buyer of Indian castor oil at 2.3 lt, followed by traditional destinations – Europe (1.3 lt) and US (45,000 tonnes), he pointed out.
Despite good demand in spot market, castor futures decreased on the back of profit booking by traders.The following are the details:
On the NCDEX, castor seed February contract declined to ₹4083 a quintal (₹ 40.8/kg or US$655/ton )
On the Rajkot Commodity Exchange castor seed March contract declined to 4,040 a quintal. (₹40.4 Kg or $650/ton)
Castor oil remained steady while spot price gained on tight supply. Castor oil remained flat at ₹810 for 10 kg (US$ 1295/ton)
As per the Bombay commodity exchange on 5th February, the price of the castor deoiled cake is 4300/ton (US$69/ton)
Source:
http://www.bce.net.in/
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/profit-booking-crushes-castor-seed/article5657285.ece
http://www.ncdex.com/MarketData/LiveFuturesQuotes.aspx
Castor seed output in India is likely to decline by 40 per cent this year on lower acreage and unfavourable climatic condition in major producing states at the beginning of the sowing season.
Traders estimate total availability at 1.4 million tonnes this year, as compared with 2.4 million tonnes in the previous year. The crop sown in September is harvested through picking of seed in five–six trenches, the first of which begins in January.
Sowing area was lower this year by 35-40 per cent, coupled with decline in estimated yield due to inconsistencies in the monsoon in major growing regions. Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, the two largest growing states, witnessed shortage of rainfall during the sowing period.
“Farmers could not sow castor seed even in their usual area, resulting in lower acreage. Yield is also expected to remain lower. Consequently, castor seed output is estimated to remain lower this year,” said Manoj Agarwal, director, Shivam Oil Mills, a Palanpur-based (Gujarat) edible oil producer and retailer.
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