Kakinada: Green chillies become too spicy to taste

Kakinada: The monsoon chill has gradually started to set in over East Godavari district, but the skyrocketing prices of chillies are threatening to make it a very hot affair for all. Like tomatoes last week, the prices of chillies too have shot-up following incessant rains in the district. On Thursday, green chillies were sold at Rs 72 per kg in Rythu Bazars. In the retail markets of Kakinada, the chillis were sold for more than Rs 100 per kg, even as merchants point out that the prices were most likely to continue to escalate. Before last week, they were sold at Rs 40 per kg in Rythu Bazars and 125 grams of green chillies were sold at Rs 10 in the supermarkets.

Vendors in Rythu Bazars claim that short supply of green chilies in the State has led to the increase in prices. They said heavy rains had impacted the crop and in turn impacted the farmers. Rythu Bazar Estate Officer R Srinivasa Rao said that at present Tuni varieties not available in the market and chillies are supplied to the Rythu Bazaars depending on the rush. At present there are two varieties like Tejas and Berhampur chillies are available in the Rythu Bazar. Only 1.5 tonnes of chillies are imported and hence the shooting of the prices. Taking advantage of the inadequacy of the green chillies' import, the local market people are exploiting with the rise in the price of the chillies.

Marketing officials said that the new crop of green chilies will be harvested within two months. G Sri Hari Raghunandan, a resident of Kakinada said, "Depending on the supply, the price of chillies tend to fluctuate and we do not have much option but to buy chillies because they form an essential part of every kitchen." He said that the common man put to a lot of inconvenience and trouble owing to the high price and meagre supply of green chillies from other districts.