The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Chilli farmers caught in rain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Chilli farmers caught in rain

By Our Staff Reporter

GUNTUR, MAY 4. Despite repeated warnings by the meteorological department of heavy rain in Guntur and Prakasam districts on Tuesday, chilli farmers were caught in the rain that lashed the district from morning partly damaging their produce brought in large quantities to the agricultural marketyard here for trading.

The marketyard reopened on Tuesday after three days of holidays and there were 1.22 lakh tikkis (bags) for trading leading to about 2 per cent of the tikkis getting drenched in the rain and price also taking a nosedive. While the marketyard secretary, B. Seshaiah, said the `model' price was stable at Rs. 1,700 per quintal, at the ground level many deals were concluded at Rs.1,000 and Rs.1,100.

The marketyard officials said that 60 per cent of the deals were inked at Rs.1,700 per quintal and only 10 per cent of the `reds' were traded at between Rs.2,000 and Rs.2,200. The commission agents, who collect a fee from farmers for handling the produce they dump at their shop, took care to protect superior varieties inside the closed godowns.

The `whites' and the discoloured ones were covered on trading platforms with tarpaulins. The water flow in the walkway had soaked some quantity of chillies estimated at 1,000 bags by the marketyard and 2,500 by farmers.

Payment to ryots

The A.P. Markfed, which was to begin its procurement of chillies at Rs.2,700 per quintal, suspended it indefinitely and appealed through mass media to farmers not to bring their produce to the marketyards at Guntur and Sattenapalli till the weather was fine.

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