Castor Seed: Investors have a better chance of earning profits through trading in castor (castor) commodity. The castor is currently trading at a price of around Rs 4470 on NCDEX. In the last two months, it has given investors an opportunity to earn. In August it was at 4100 rate. In the last two months and 8 per cent has increased, and in the last one week, its prices have increased by 5.5 per cent in just one week. In this way, castor futures trading has given a profit of 8 per cent in the last two months.
Fasting due to reduced sowing area
The main reason for the rise in the price of castor in the last two months is its demand. After the removal of the lockdown imposed due to the Corona epidemic, its demand has increased rapidly. Because of this, there has been a surge in its prices. According to Ajay Kedia, director of Kedia Advisory, one of the reasons for the rise in the futures price of castor is that this time its sowing has reduced due to which the next crop will be less. Last year, the price of castor had almost crashed and it went up to Rs 3400-3500. Due to this, its sowing area declined as farmers shifted to other crops.
Bullish Sentiment from China’s Aggressive Shopping
At this time, China is increasing the commodity reserve. Regarding this, China has adopted an aggressive strategy for buying castor seed. In view of this aggressive buying by China, the Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) has written a letter to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry urging them to strategize on it. Due to this aggressive strategy of China, the trend of investors can be bullish. Anuj Gupta, deputy vice president (energy and currency), Angel Broking, believes that by the end of this year, it could show a level of up to Rs 4800-5000.
Relief in the spot market right now
Talking about the castor’s spot price, there has been a jump of Rs 250-300. Rakesh Dhariwal, a businessman from Palampur, said that at present, its spot price is 4500 and due to the way it is coming in, its prices may fall by Rs 100-150 in the next 15-20 days. According to the data given on the website of the Solvent Extractors Association (SEA), in 2019-20, 19.6 lakh tonnes of castors may come on the market, which is much higher than the last time 10.8 lakh tonnes in 2018-19.
India’s largest castor producer
India is the largest producer of castors and supplies 85–90 per cent of the castor oil and its products worldwide. Gujarat has the highest cultivation in India. Apart from Gujarat, it is cultivated extensively in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Castor oil is used in the manufacture of bio-plastic bio-lubricants, organic personal care products, paints and coatings, and automobiles and pharmaceuticals.