The red chilli prices are swelling this season due to its heavy demand in the domestic as well as the international markets. Good demand by food processors and exporters has lifted the the prices by 10 per cent in the current season as compared to prices in the year ago period. This was revealed by Sanjay Wadhwani, a red chilli trader while speaking to The Hitavada.

The local red chilli variety Roshni is being quoted at Rs 150 per kg to Rs 185 per kg, as compared to Rs 90 per kg to Rs 135 per kg during the previous year, at the Kalamna Wholesale Market on Monday. “Local red chilli varieties like Roshni and Teja of Kuhi-Mandhar, Bhiwapur, Armori, Buldhana, Sironcha and Rajura are famous for their distinctive quality. Therefore, they are in heavy demand by consumers and producers. Apart from this, the local red chilli varieties are being exported in bulk quantities to Asian and European countries. As a result the red chilli prices are higher by 10 per cent compared to the last season,” said Wadhwani. “Last year the local Roshni variety was quoted at Rs 90 per kg to Rs 135 per kg, whereas, the local Teja was moving in the range of Rs 135 per kg to Rs 150 per kg in wholesale market in the same month,” he added. Other varieties like Teja, Byadgi, Khammam, Chapata, Devanur Deluxe (DD) etc., arrive from Guntur, Warangal, Hyderabad and Karnataka. The chilli produce started to arrive from January in the market. The red chilli harvest season starts from January and ends by May 15, sources said.

In the Kalamna wholesale market, the red chilli prices of certain varieties are being quoted as follows: Roshni at Rs 150 per kg to Rs 185 per kg, Teja at Rs 150 per kg to Rs 190 per kg, Devanur Deluxe (DD) at Rs 160 to Rs 200 per kg, Chapata at Rs 170 per kg to Rs 200 per kg, Byadgi at Rs 200 per kg to Rs 250 per kg and Armoor at Rs 140 per kg to Rs 165 per kg, depending on the quality, sources added.

This season the production of red chillies is better than the previous year because of the good weather conditions. About 50,000 bags arrived on Monday at the Kalamna market. Despite huge quantities of red chillies being unloaded in the market it is being bought by the traders which is pushing the prices higher. The domestic chillies are in great demand in international market. About 8 to 10 containers of red chilli are being exported from Kuhi-Mandhar, Bhiwapur, Sironcha and Rajura. India exports red chillies in large quantities to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Europe and Middle East.