TN Chilli Growers Warned On Vast Stocks

Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University's domestic and export market intelligence cell (DEMIC) has cast the prices of Sannam chillies to rule easy for the coming crop in January owing to huge stocks still held in cold storage points in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The cell has cautioned the prospective chilli growers who may like to sow the crop in the ensuing October sowing season to consider this factor before taking their planting decision as the anticipated price band for the next season crop would be lower only at Rs 25-30 per kg. Cold storages in Tamil Nadu too, are filled with about 15 lakh bags of chillies. The DEMIC team, which held market and trade surveys in Tamil Nadu's principal chilli markets in Ramanad, Paramakudi, Vridunagar, Thoothukudi and Chennai (the latter is fed by supplies from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh), has held that the high prices saw last year was due to huge imports of chilli from India by China.