Traders offer low price for chilli, force farmers into distress sale
WARANGAL: The farmers of the red chilli crop are crying foul over the traders robbing them outright. They alleged that the traders were not forthcoming to offer more than Rs 31,000 per quintal. The lowest price they offered was Rs 25,000 per quintal.
The red chilli farmers who arrive at Enumamula market yard with their products are a frustrated lot. They said that the price announced by the market is way higher than the price offered by the traders.As there is no other alternative, the farmers are resorting to distress sale. The traders, seizing the opportunity, are buying huge quantities and stocking them in godowns.
On Friday, the traders offered Rs 29,000 to Rs 31,000 per quintal for the Wonder Hot (WH) variety of red chilli.
The Teja variety fetched a little less --Rs 20,800 per quintal, while 314 variety was taken at Rs 17,000 per quintal. The traders quoted Rs 17,000 per quintal for the Deepika variety.
The red chilli crop is arriving at the rate of 15,000 to 17,000 bags per day at the market. The traders after forcing the farmers to undersell their produce are exporting the chilli to other states in the country to make mega bucks.
M Vekanna, a farmer from Narsampet, said that farmers were struggling to get the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for red chili crops in the market. He alleged that the market officials colluded with the traders and turned a blind to their woes.
He said that if they questioned the injustice being done to them, there was the possibility of the traders refusing to purchase their produce on the pretext that the moisture content was high. Enumamula agriculture market secretary B V Rahul was not available for comment.