Cardamom, known as black gold of Nepal, is grown in hill districts and exported worldwide. Nepal doesn’t import it, so every grain comes from local farms.
Earlier, cardamom sold around NPR 80,000 per mound in Ashoj. Now, at the start of Kartik, prices have risen to about NPR 88,000 per mound. High-quality cardamom is trading between NPR 86,000 and 87,000.
Last year, premium, dust-free, tail-cut cardamom sold for NPR 1,07,000 per mound, while medium-quality cardamom went for NPR 1,04,000. Regular cardamom fetched around NPR 1,01,000.
Cardamom is harvested from Shrawan to the end of Kartik. Nepal produces the most cardamom in the world. It’s used both as a spice and in medicines.
India is the largest buyer of Nepali cardamom, followed by Bangladesh, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, the US, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
Five-year export trend
- FY 2081/082: NPR 7.68 billion worth exported
- FY 2080/081: 50.18 lakh kg exported, worth NPR 7.94 billion
- FY 2079/080: 99.91 lakh kg exported
- FY 2078/079: 53.67 lakh kg, worth NPR 4.81 billion
- FY 2077/078: 85.57 lakh kg, worth NPR 7.02 billion
- FY 2076/077: 50.12 lakh kg, worth NPR 4.01 billion
Nepal’s cardamom remains in high demand, and rising prices are a good sign for farmers.
yoyo