Higher carry forward stocks, low prices impact India’s red chilli acreage this cropping season

India’s chilli acreage would have declined by over a fourth this cropping season as a section of farmers in the key producing States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have switched over to other crops such as tobacco, maize and pulses, mainly green gram. Also, the low price trend in prices coupled with higher stocks in cold storages have influenced the cropping pattern this year.

Trade sources and input vendors estimate that cropped area would have come down by 25-30 per cent this year compared to the last. As per the Agriculture Ministry’s third advance estimates, the all-India acreage under red chilli stood at 9.9 lakh hectares (lh) during 2023-24 over 8.52 lh a year ago. The production of dried red chillies was estimated at 32.08 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2023-24 over 27.82 lt a year ago.

Byadgi chilli

“The carry forward stock is more than last year. In Guntur alone, there are nearly 42 lakh bags of 40 kg each compared with 27 lakh bags last year. The planting is about 25 per cent down compared with last year, but the crop condition is good,” said Velagapudi Sambasiva Rao, Chairman, All India Chilli Exporters Association in Guntur. In Telangana, the stocks are estimated at around 30 lakh bags, while in Karnataka it ranged between 42 and 50 lakh bags, he said.

Rao said the crop in the northern regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra is not good due to the impact of rains.

Basavaraj Hampali of Hampali Traders in Hubballi said the cropped area under chilli in Karnataka varieties such as Byadgi and hybrids such as 5531, which are mainly used for making powder, is down by 25-30 per cent. Karnataka is having high stocks this year and a section of farmers have shifted to other crops such as green gram, he said.

Prices of the Byadgi variety in Karnataka are ruling at around ₹22,000 per quintal over ₹60,000 a year ago. Similarly, the price of hybrids like 5531 are ruling at ₹12,000 levels against 14,000 levels a year ago. In Andhra, the Teja variety is ruling between ₹12,000 and 15,000 per quintal compared with ₹17,000-19,000 levels a year ago.

Mixed bag

NK Rajavelu, CEO, Crop Protection Business at Godrej Agrovet said the chilli crop has been a mixed bag, so far, as the crop acreage is down by 25-30 per cent over the previous year due to low prices. “The previous year was an abnormal year in terms of the acreage going sky high. So the 25 to 30 per cent acreage what we see as a reduction could be the normal acreage of the chilli crop,” Rajavelu said, adding that farmers have moved towards maize because of the minimum support price.

Rajavelu said growers are carrying old stocks. “The cash flow is very tight in the market and hence farmers are preferring to use low value crop protection products at this point of time, while selectively using the high value chemistries.”

Rajavelu said the crop is delayed this year and farmers are still going in for fresh transplanting wherever the water availability is there.