TNAU asks farmers to plant chillies in Oct-Nov

Coimbatore, Oct 17 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has advised the farmers to take up sowing of chillies in the 'Tamil Ippasi' month period of October-November for better remuneration.

Project coordinator of Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of TNAU, Prof N Raveendran said a study conducted by DEMIC on market scenario and price behavior showed that chilli cultivators were under a sticky situation as "Ipassi Pattam" was fast approaching.

He said the Northeast monsoon, which starts in October and continues till December, plays a crucial role in the cultivation and production of chillies in Ramnad, Thoothukudi, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli districts in the state.

He said chilli arrival in the market starts with the first crop from Madhya Pradesh in mid-October followed by Karnataka in November, Maharashtra in January and the arrival continues till mid-May.

The peak arrival was during March-April. During this time traders and processors procure directly from farmers and store it in cold storages. The storage cost ranges between Rs 250 and Rs 300 per tonne a month. More than 5,000 bags, each containing 40 kg, arrive in Chennai market daily during this season from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Ramnad and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu.

The econometric analysis of the historical data reveals that the price of chilli would range between Rs 47 to Rs 50 per kg during harvest season. Good demand added to meagre stock in the cold storages would maintain the price firm in that range during January-May this year, he said adding that farmers could take advantage of the price hike during off season by collectively joining together and stock the red chillies in bulk quantities at their nearest cold storages.

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