BEIJING (Commodity Online): Till recently there were reports that if you invest in garlic, turmeric and Nickel you are all set to reap a fortune. Because these commodities had shown record performance in the recent months. In fact garlic had shown a 300 per cent rise at the time of swine flu menace as the Chinese believed that garlic can prevent the epidemic.

However, Nickel's performance was also worth mentioning as the commodity was the best performer this year.

But, Nickel will find it tough to maintain the pace as there were reports that world supplies will go up and China is searching for lower-cost alternatives.

A report in newspapers said that global output of nickel will jump 6.8 percent, the most since 2000. China, the biggest consumer, more than tripled production of the cheaper nickel pig iron in the first quarter.

Nickel for three-month delivery advanced 42 percent this year as of the close on April 30 and reached a 23-month high of $27,595 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange April 16 after stainless steelmakers boosted output by the most since at least the early 1970s. The metal, which helps protect steel from corrosion, finished last week at $26,300 per tonne.

World stainless steel output also jumped 55 percent in the first three months to 7.9 million tonnes from a year earlier, and will increase 20 percent to 31 million tonnes in 2010, the biggest gain since 1976.

Output of nickel in China may jump 13 percent to 313,000 tonnes this year from 278,000 tonnes in 2009. The increase may cut imports of the metal and its alloys that totaled 250,216 tonnes in 2009.

The last time the metal rallied, in 2006-2007, production of pig iron and climbing global stockpiles contributed to a slump after the price reached a record $51,800 a ton in May.

China