KHAMMAM: Chilli farmers, who were expecting better returns for their produce, were in for a shock when they reached at the Khammam Market Yard on Thursday as the traders refused to pay them the price decided by the market committee.
The traders offered to pay only Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 per quintal as against Rs 23,150 per quintal decided by the market committee at the time of the commencement of trading in the morning.
Farmers who brought their produce to the market yard in Khammam found no takers for chilli at the price fixed by the market committee on the pretext that the it had been damaged due to the early morning rain. Hundreds of farmers from Suryapet, Khammam, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Mahbubabad and Nalgonda districts as well as Krishna and West Godavari districts in AP brought more than 20,000 bags of chilli to the Khammam Market Yard in the morning.
K Narayana, a farmer from Suryapet district said: “We brought 15 bags of chilli to the market last night but the traders offered only Rs 14,000 per quintal as they were soaked in rainwater.”
G Mangilal, another farmer from Enkoor alleged that their produce was damaged because the market committee had not provided them with tarpaulins. The farmers were upset over the lack of facilities at the market yard to protect their crops from the elements.