After witnessing a disastrous season last year, chilli farmers in the key growing regions of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka are hoping to make some money this year with a decline in output on lower acreage.
As arrivals from kharif harvest reach the mandis, Telangana farmers are seeing a huge jump in the prices of red dried chillies.
Jump in prices
Khammam, one of the biggest markets for chillies in the country, quoted a minimum price of ₹11,450 a quintal on Wednesday, which is ₹5,000 more than the price at the same time last year.
Similarly, in Guntur, the average price is higher at ₹9,500 a quintal.
Bumper crop
Red chilli prices had crashed last year to as low as ₹1,500-2,000 a quintal after Telangana harvested a record three lakh tonnes in the 2016 kharif season, leaving farmers facingsteep losses.
As a result, farmers shifted to cotton in the kharif 2017 season resulting in a drop in chilli acreage. Chilli production in Telangana is expected to be around 2 lakh tonnes in the current season from 1.18 lakh acres.
S Malla Reddy, Vice-President of All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), feels that the present rate of ₹9,000-11,000 may be short-lived.
Output, arrivals
“By February end, the arrivals will be higher and prices are likely to fall by 50 per cent. It may stay around ₹4,500 a quintal,” Reddy said.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for more than half of the national output.
India’s red chilli production stood at 18.72 lakh tonnes during 2016-17, with AP accounting for 8.83 lakh tonnes, followed by Telangana at 3.37 lakh tonnes.
Karnataka scenario
In neighbouring Karnataka, where the harvest commenced in December, market arrivals have dropped by around half on lower output. Besides a dip in the acreage, the unseasonal rain in October in the key growing regions of North Karnataka impacted the output, trade sources said.
In Byadgi, a major market for dry chillies which are known for their colour, the average price is higher by at least 20 per cent over last year, while the market arrivals have dropped by around 42 per cent.
Arrivals in Byadgi from December 1, 2017 till date are put at 22,521 tonnes against 38,918 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
Modal prices for the Byadigi kaddi variety are hovering around ₹13,750 per quintal, and around ₹14,000 per quintal for the dabbi variety .