The prices of red chili peppers are surging as output from the top exporter India is set to drop by 20 percent year-on-year, as the crop was hit by an invasive pest attack and damage from unseasonal rain in key southern producing states.
Lower production has boosted prices by 80 percent in four months to a record high and prices are likely to stay high through the year, forcing overseas buyers to shell out more at a time when the prices of fuel and other food ingredients are also soaring.
"The pest attack was widespread," said D. Kanungo, a trader from the biggest producing state of Andhra Pradesh. "In many areas, it forced farmers to uproot plants during the flowering stage." As a result, farmers fear an output drop of at least 20%, he added.
India, the world's biggest exporter of red chilis, shipped out 578,800 tons in 2021, up nearly 8% from a year ago. Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United States accounted for the bulk of its exports of $1.3 billion in 2021.
Source: reuters.com
Photo source: Dreamstime.com
