There is a sudden spurt in the prices of chillies in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Reports say that a quintal of the spice is being sold at ₹17,400, which is almost double than what it was 5-6 months ago.
Since the harvest season is months away, the sudden spurt in prices is attributed to the gradual opening up of supply chain sector after a prolonged lockdown shut markets for months.
“There has been a pent-up demand as the markets were closed for months during the lockdown period. Export channels too are opening up after being shut down for months,” M Ramesh, a farmer from Khammam, told BusinessLine.
Shift from cotton
The farmers are in the process of sowing the seedlings for the current kharif season. A good number of farmers are sourcing the seedlings from nurseries at ₹2-3 a piece. “Some cotton farmers, too, are shifting to chillies encouraged by good prices. Unabated rains in the last few weeks led to water logging resulting in damage to cotton crop in several areas,” P Ramesh, a farmer from the Warangal Rural district, said.
While Telangana farmers grew the spice on 2.10 lakh acres, their Andhra Pradesh counterparts grew the crop on 3.45 lakh acres.