Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Trading Resumed At Chilli Market

Guntur: Trading resumed at the chilli market yard here on Monday on a cautious note. About 30,000-32,000 tikkis (bags) were sold with the prices in the range of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,200 a quintal for the better varieties. Trading was halted in the chilli market yard, the biggest in the country, after the fire on May 3.

Though trading resumed officially on Monday in temporary sheds constructed in the yard for the purpose, there was some trading during the week-end too, with left-over stocks.

According to Nisar Ahmed, Joint Director (Marketing), during the next 10 days or so 10-12 lakh bags of chilli may be brought to the yard and there is likely to be substantial improvement in prices. On Monday, 65,000 bags were brought to the yard, he said.

It is estimated that more than 20 lakh bags of chilli is stored in the cluster of cold storages surrounding the yard. According to a rough estimate, 20 lakh bags of chilli are with the farmers and trading may go on till June 10 or so.

Usually, the trading at the yard starts fizzling out by the last week of May, as farmers’ stocks are exhausted, but this season there has been a fortnight’s halt due to the fire. The season may correspondingly be extended.

L Appi Reddy, Market Committee Chairman, said farmers could bring their stocks without any apprehensions, as fire-fighting equipment were at hand.

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