New Delhi, 28 November (NNS): Here, the prices of black pepper remained strengthened at Rs 680 per kg due to the strong demand even after the higher prices. Recently, the prices have gone down by Rs 10 per kg. In Kochi, the arrivals reported to be negligible and the prices held stable at the same level of the previous day. It is expected that the new crop of black pepper will likely to arrive during the end of December and the starting of the January, due to this, the market sentiments may affect. The spot black pepper prices will likely to remain sluggish during the near future.