Ahmedabad, March 18 (Commodities Control): Castor seed arrivals in Gujarat remain steady. Today, arrivals exceeded 100,000 bags, yet prices remained stable. Traders attribute this stability to a sustained demand for castor oil from foreign markets, leading to consistent purchases by mills. Even the futures market exhibited a sluggish trend today.
Traders report that over 100,000 tonnes of castor oil were exported in January and February combined. Despite the Chinese market being closed for 15 days last month, demand from China remained strong. The current pace of castor seed purchases by mills suggests a healthy demand for castor oil in foreign markets.
Today, Gujarat witnessed the arrival of approximately 1,12,000 bags of castor seeds (1 bag = 35 kg). According to traders, around 88,000 bags arrived from Gujarat, 14,000 bags from Rajasthan, and 10,000 bags were directly delivered to mills. The average castor seed price ranged between 1155-1180 rupees per 20 kilograms.
Due to the sluggishness in the futures market, mill prices did not see major fluctuations. N.K.'s price remained consistent at 1220 rupees throughout the day, Jagana Shippers at 1198-1195 rupees, and Kandla's at 1185-1195 rupees per 20 kilograms.
Castor oil for Kandla, delivery terms opened at 1210-1212 rupees and closed at 1208-1210 rupees per 10 kilograms.
On NCDEX, at 4:45 PM, the April castor contract traded at 5895 rupees per quintal, up by 3 rupees, while the May contract traded at 5920 rupees per quintal, up by 1 rupee. Prices Remain Stable Despite Increased Arrivals