WATCH | Karnataka Farmers Furious As Chilli Prices Plummet: Market Chaos Unfolds

A sudden 10% slump in chilli procurement prices at the Byadagi wholesale agricultural market in Haveri district sparked anger among hundreds of farmers from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, on Monday.

This led to a rampage, resulting in the vandalism of police vehicles, with two of them being torched, and attacks on police and district administration officials.

Photo Credit: X/ANI

Karnataka Farmers Furious As Chilli Prices Drop

This left 30 people, including the deputy SP, injured, as reported by Times Of India. The chilli trade hub in central Karnataka, Byadagi, situated 310km from Bengaluru, witnessed the unexpected drop in prices attributed to a glut in production. Sources indicated that the price of 100kg of Byadagi variety chilli had decreased from 43,000 to 39,000 within a week, as per media reports.

The market, which convenes twice a week to determine pricing, faced an influx of 3.5 lakh bags, each containing 50kg of chilli, surpassing the cold storage capacity of about 40 privately managed units.

Frustrated farmers, anticipating a rate of about 4,000 per quintal, expressed their discontent when offered less by traders. The traders defended the pricing, stating it was closely linked to the quality of the produce, as reported by Times Of India.