With prices falling to ₹12,000 a quintal from about ₹18,000 last year, chilli farmers have decided to organise a protest in Khammam Market Yard on February 18.
Stating that hundreds of farmers will attend the dharna, Telangana Rythu Sangham District Secretary Bonthu Rambabu said that chilli farmers were facing huge losses as prices fell drastically.
He asked the Central and State Governments to consider the establishment of a Chilli Board on the lines of exclusive Boards for tobacco and turmeric. He said an exclusive Board for Chillis would help regulate the crop and take care of all issues that farmers faced.
“They should set up the board with its headquarters in Khammam, one of the biggest hubs for chilli production and trade,” he said.
Stating that the Telugu States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana lead the country in chilli production, he said that farmers faced heavy losses due to pests and diseases.
Third in the country
Telangana ranks third in the country in chilli area with 3.92 lakh acres and second in terms of chilli production with 7.94 lakh tonnes. It accounts for 16 per cent of the country’s chilli area and 25 per cent in production. In Guntur, the benchmark market, the price of the Teja variety dropped by 3.03 per cent to ₹16,000 per quintal.
“The newly arrived US 341 and Teja varieties are currently priced at ₹16,500 per quintal at the Guntur market. The Denvor Delux variety is trading in a range of ₹13,000- ₹14,500 per quintal,” an official report said.
“The newly arrived Teja variety at the Warangal spot market is currently trading in the range of ₹13,000 – ₹16,000 per quintal. Around 1,600 bags of new arrivals were reported at Khammam spot market which traded around ₹12,000 – ₹16,000 per quintal,” the report said.
It pegged a price of ₹13,000–15,000 per quintal in January 2025.