The burgeoning demand for the popular Teja variety of red chilli, famous for its culinary, medicinal and other wide-ranging uses, in the export market is proving to be a boon for the Khammam Agriculture Market, housing Telangana’s second largest chilli market yard, in the district headquarters town of Khammam.
Khammam district, the largest producer of Teja variety of red chilli, is the leading exporter of the pungent fruit which is not only known for its culinary purpose as a flavouring agent to spice up various delicacies but as a main ingredient in making pepper spray. The huge demand for Oleoresin, a natural chilli extract, is mainly driving the export of Teja variety of red chilli from Khammam district to various spice processing industries in several Asian countries.
The Mudigonda-based Oleoresin extraction firm of a Chinese company is engaged in export of the by product to its clients, sources said.
Teja variety of red chilli is being exported to China, Bangladesh and a few other south Asian countries from Khammam mainly through the Chennai port.
The volume of exports of the commodity is picking up in tune with growing requirements of the spice processing industries and other allied units engaged in production of value-added products like sauce and pickles.
The paste extracted from the pungent fruit is also in demand for its use as a protective layer beneath ships in some of the Asian countries, sources added.
The export of Teja variety of red chilli is expected to grow from the present ₹2000 crore per annum to ₹2500 crore next year, Khammam Agriculture Market Secretary R Mallesham told The Hindu.
He said: “A major chunk of the commodity is being exported to China. The pungent fruit is most sought after in various south Asian countries including Thailand due to its unique flavour and wider applications as a natural colouring agent.”
Despite the huge demand for Teja red chilli in the international market, we are finding it difficult to recover the investment on the crop due to sharp escalation of cost of cultivation, rued K Srinivas, a chilli farmer of Tirumalayapalem. Only the big traders, those who can afford to keep huge stocks of the commodity in cold storages for longer duration are reaping rich dividends of the huge export potential of the commodity, alleged another chilli grower.
An overwhelming number of chilli farmers in Khammam district continue to reel under the cascading effect of high cost of cultivation and low crop yield, Telangana Rythu Sangham district president B Rambabu said.
The chilli acreage has come down drastically from 1.03 lakh acres during 2021-22 to 69,888 acres in the current year with many chilli farmers shifting to cultivation of cotton and other crops after suffering extensive crop damage due to the new invasive thrips virus last year, he lamented.
As against the average yield of 25 quintals of red chilli per acre, the output fell abysmally low to 8 quintals per acre under the impact of the thrips attack, official sources said.
The losses suffered by farmers due to due to flower thrips complex in the district during 2021-22 is estimated at ₹14.65 crore.
