Rain delay pushes farmers to pick chilli over cotton

Kochi: Chilli sowing area in the principal growing regions may drop by 10-15% as per the latest indication and not by 30% as feared earlier because of record low prices. “Almost 90% of the sowing is over in Andhra Pradesh and many farmers who were planning to shift to more remunerative cotton settled for chilli because of delay in monsoon. Cotton needs immediate irrigation unlike chilli,“ said Ravipati Peraiah, MD of Vijayakrishna Spice Farms.

Chilli is the largest exported spice from India, earning over Rs. 5,000 crore last year. Cotton-sowing season starts from July and the delay in monsoon prompted many farmers to go for chilli in Andhra Pradesh, the largest producer. “Half of the chilli areas are nurtured using borewells and the other half through irrigation from Krishna river. The rains have been inadequate so far and the farmers are hoping it would rain more in September and October to help chillies in the irrigated area,'' Peraiah said.

Chilli prices crashed by over 50% to touch a low of Rs. 35 per kg on the back of a glut. The prices recovered slightly on export demand in the last few months. “But now the exports have slowed down with chilli crop ready for harvest in China which had bought substantial quantities from India,“ said Kunthu Kumar S Mehta, director of Siddhartha Corporation, a major exporter.