Commodity Outlook – Castor Seed

agribazaar December 20, 2019

Sowing period: July to October
Harvesting period: December to March
Crop season: Kharif

According to the Directorate of Agriculture of Gujarat, Castor Seed has been sown in 7.40 lakh hectares (lh) which was up by 38.58 percent in the state as compared to only 5.34 lh by this time last year.
As per the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), all India castor seed production estimate for 2018-19 is 11.27 Lakh MT which is 21.35 percent lower than the 2017-18 production estimate of 14.33 Lakh MT.
Stock positions of Castor Seed were down by 35.04 percent held at National Commodity Clearing Limited (NCCL) approved warehouses at Bhabhar, Deesa, Kadi and Patan locations. The stocks held as on November 14, 2019 was 59,435 MT compared to 38,608 MT as on December 16, 2019.

Source: Agmarknet
Note: November Mandi arrivals are for the period: 1 – 20 December, 2019

Source: NCDEX
Note: Markets currently are in Backwardation where the Spot market prices are higher than the Futures market prices.

Castor Seed prices are likely to trade steady to firm in immediate / short term.
Castor Seed prices trading at its current levels in most physical markets of the country are expected to move towards Rs. 4,300 – 4,500 per quintal levels due to lower supply.