India’s chilli acreage shrinks by over 30% this kharif as farmers shift to maize, cotton

Dry chilli prices have started moving up from last week on reduced area and expected delay in arrivals of around 25 days
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G N RAO

India’s chilli acreage is estimated to have shrunk by 30-40 per cent this kharif season as last year’s weak prices forced farmers to switch over to crops like maize, cotton and tobacco in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka – the key producers-, stakeholders said. Reduced area coupled with an anticipated delay in new crop arrivals has resulted in price of dry red chillies rebounding in recent days.

“The overall area is down by around 40 per cent as farmers were not interested in planting the chilli crop this year because they faced losses last year. In Andhra and Telangana, the area is down 40 per cent respectively, while it has dropped by 50 per cent in Karnataka. Also, the excess rain impacted the crop in some areas forcing farmers to go for replanting,” said Sambasiva Rao Velagapudi, President, Chilli Exporters Association in Guntur.

Sandeep Voddepalli, general manager at BigHaat Agro Pvt Ltd, which sources dry chillies for over two dozen companies, estimates the acreage to be lower by 30-35 per cent. Including the crop loss due to the recent excess rain in about 5-7 per cent of the area, the total acreage could be lower by around 40 per cent, he said.

Area dip across the country

The decline in area is across all 5 major growing states – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka. The area of colouring chillies varieties such as Byadgi, Dabbi and 5531 have also declined. The Byadgi chilli area has dropped by around 50 per cent this year in Karnataka. In Madhya Pradesh, the chilli area is down by around 30 per cent, Voddepalli added.

Basavaraj Hampali of Hampali Traders in Hubballi said the chilli area is lower by more than 25 per cent in Karnataka. Kundagol and Annigeri taluks areas around Hubballi, the main producing region for Byadgi chillies, have witnessed crop losses due to the recent excess rains, while the crop looks good in the Ballari region, he said.

Dry chilli prices have started moving up from last week on reduced area and expected delay in arrivals of around 25 days. The demand for the c cold storage chillies is also expected to go up, Voddepalli said. Average prices are up by around 15 per cent from the levels of July-August of around Rs 130-135 per kg.

Storage stocks

“Prices are likely to sustain and witness a firm trend on delayed new crop arrivals,” Velagapudi said. Dry chilli stocks in the cold storages are estimated at around 1.5 crore bags, similar to the last year’s levels, while the crop is delayed by over a month and new arrivals are likely to be around January 20, he added.

In the past two months, prices have moved up by around Rs 30 per kg for local consumption varities such as 5531, 341, 334 and all. However, the Teja variety has seen an increase of only Rs 10 per kg as the export demand is less, Velagapudi said.

China, the biggest buyer of Indian chillies, has already made higher purchases. “China has bought about 5,000 containers more than last year. They are having stock and not interested to buy more. So, the Teja variety, so far, is not in good shape,” Velagapuri said.

As per the Spices Board data, India’s red chilli production was lower at 26.93 lakh tonnes from an area of 9.21 lakh hectares during 2024-25 over 29.09 lakh tonnes from an area of 9.65 lakh hectares the previous year.

Published on October 10, 2025