GADAG: Chilli farmers in Gadag expect the Byadagi brand of chilli would cross Rs 1 lakh per quintal, as a farmer in the district surpassed the record of another by bagging Rs 89,999 per quintal this week. The increasing wholesale prices is bound to have an impact on the retail prices in the coming days.
Vijaykumar Sajjanar, a farmer in Ron, got the historic price by breaking the record of a Lakkundi farmer who got Rs 74,099 per quintal on February 6. Byadgi chilli is also grown in Gadag, Dharwad and Haveri districts.
Vijayakumar said, “I am very happy as I got a historic price for my crop. I did not expect this, but I knew I would get a fair price as my crop is purely organic. All farmers celebrated this and hope to see the price cross one lakh soon.”
Agents from Mumbai, Hyderabad and several other parts of the country buy Byadgi chilli in huge quantities to supply to chilli powder manufacturing companies. Farmers are elated with the historic price rise and hope that it would cross the one lakh mark soon. Many of them distributed sweets and celebrated the new record.
Byadgi chilli is also used as a natural colourant in nail polishes and a few other products, and there could be a cascading effect on cosmetic products.
Normally, chilli prices hover around Rs 35,000–50,000 per quintal depending on the quality. But this time it was at an all time high. In January 2023, Sharanappa, a farmer from Kotumachagi received Rs 70,499. Last week, Chandru, a farmer in Lakkundi, fetched Rs 74,099 per quintal and now, Vijayakumar got an all time high price Rs 89,999 for his crop.
Onion farmers fear loss as prices crash
Vijayapura: Onion growers in the district are facing distress because of prices crashing in the open market and suffering heavy crop losses during last monsoon owing to excessive rains and floods. Local farmers said onion prices dropped as low as Rs 800 per quintal, far below the production cost, and they were unable to recover expenses.
The district is among the largest onion-growing regions in the state after Chitradurga with extensive cultivation, particularly in Basavanabagewadi and Kolhar taluks. More than 80% of the monsoon crop was damaged by heavy rainfall and flooding. Farmers had hoped to overcome losses with better prices for the dried produce and the winter crop.
According to estimates, about 31,000 hectares of onion crop was damaged in the district during the monsoon. In the winter season, cultivation covered around 23,000 hectares, while sowing is expected in nearly 25,000 hectares for the summer crop.