Drop in dry chilli prices dashes farmers’ hopes

Khammam : Dry chilli farmers at the Agriculture Market, Khammam, who had preserved their yields in cold storage for the past three months, are facing a terrible situation now with the sudden fall in the prices of the crop. The prices of Teja type AC Mirchi as well as regular type non AC Mirchi have fallen drastically.

In the market on Thursday, a flag price of Rs 17,500 was fixed for a quintal of chilli kept in cold storages, while traders bought quintals at Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000 depending on the quality. In the same market, the price of quintal AC mirchi, which was Rs 19,500 on Wednesday, decreased by Rs 2000 per quintal in a single day.

Compared to the price a month ago, the price has decreased by more than Rs 3,000 per quintal. In the market, the prices of non-AC chillies have fallen further. A quintal of dry chilli is fetching Rs 10,000 to Rs 14,000. Moreover, on Friday, there was no market due to Amavasya.

In the wake of the situation, traders state that the prices are decreasing due to the stoppage of exports of Teja type of chillies to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other countries. Teja pepper oil is usually grown in areas around Khammam.

Earlier Chinese traders gave bulk orders for Teja chilli, but this time they did not come to the market for purchasing it. Moreover, orders from other countries are decreasing as well, cite business sources.

About 3000 sacks of chillies were sold in Khammam market on Thursday. However, farmers are reluctant to sell their crops in colt storages as prices fall. Notably, many farmers kept their crops in cold storages as they were not able to get the price of Rs 16000-17000 per quintal in March and April. However, the price of the same crop in the market is only Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000 per quintal now.

They argue that this situation would not have arisen if the crop had been sold. Compared to the rates rate, they complain that not only is there a loss of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per quintal, but also Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 per quintal, including cold storage rent and export import and haulage costs.

Currently, with the beginning of the Kharif (monsoon crop) cultivation season, farmers are expressing concern that they are forced to sell the crop at a loss for investment purposes under the wrong conditions. The hopes of the farmers, who thought that the price would increase in the market, washed away due to the disappointing situation.