GUNTUR: A delegation of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Thursday visited Asia’s biggest chilli yard to learn about chilli production and transactions taking place at NTR Mirchi Yard.
The BBC team comprising Francis, Cherry and John Shyam and ITC officials conducted a study on sales and purchases at the yard. They enquired about chilli arrivals at the yard and interacted with the farmers to learn about the cultivation method.
Francis appreciated the trading system being implemented in the yard for the benefit of farmers. He expressed happiness over visiting the market yard. The market yard officials and governing body members are using the latest technology to maintain transparency, he observed.He stated that he had earlier visited Mexico to study chilli trading, but after visiting Guntur, he said that he had not seen this type of trading activity anywhere in the world.
Market Yard chairman M Subba Rao explained about the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) platform. He said that the market yard registers transactions worth more than 100 million dollars per annum.
He said that the farmers bring 15 varieties of chillies to the market and on an average 10,000 farmers visit the market yard daily with their produce. He said that traders export chilli to more than 12 countries from the market yard and net 125 million dollars every year.