Chillies belong to the genus capsicum, under the Solanaceae family and are believed to have

originated from South America. It is also called as hot pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper,
capsicum, etc. Most of the cultivated varieties in India belong to the species Capsicum annum

Chillies are valued principally for their high pungency and colour. Chilies are used in different
forms, green chillies, dried red chilies as whole and in powdered form as well for spicing
various cuisines.

It is estimated that around 25-30% of the chilly crop is used for powder preparation, with the
branded chilly powder manufacturers accounting for around 5% of the total volume.

Climate and cultivation

Chillies can be grown during the entire year at one or the other part of the country. However,
the major arrival season extends from February to April. The crop planting starts from August
and extends till October. While, the harvesting begins from December and extends to
February-March .

There are several varieties of chilli cultivated in India. The most popular among these are,
Sannam, LC 334, Byadgi, Wonder Hot, Jwala etc.
World Scenario

Chilli is produced all over the world and the total world production of chilli crop sums up to
around 7 million tons that is cultivated on approximately 1.5 million hectares of land. India is
the world leader in chilli production followed by China and Pakistan

major consumers

• China
• Mexico
• Thailand
• United States of America
• United Kingdom
• Germany

• Sweden
World trade in chillies account to an approximate of 16% in
the total spice trade in the world. This share places chilli
on the second position after black pepper in the world
trade.

Major importers:

• United Arab Emirates

• European Union
• Sri Lanka
• Malaysia
• Japan

• Korea
Indian Scenario

India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of chillies in the world having the
largest area under chill cultivations in the world. With production hovering around 1.1 million
tones annually, it is estimated that India produced 1,060,345 tons of dry chilli from an area of
884,183 hectares in 2003-04. India is the largest consumer of chilli in the world. Around 90%
of India's production is consumed within the country.

Chilli is cultivated in almost all the states in India, with Andhra Pradesh being the largest
producer with a 46% share, Karnataka (15%). The major chilli producing states in India
namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu contribute
to around 86% of total area for the chilli crop cultivation in the country and 90% of the total
Indian produce.

The major chilly growing districts of Andhra Pradesh are Guntur, Warangal, Khammam,
Krishna and Prakasham.
Trade

Exports of chillies sum up to around 100,000 tons, which makes 33% of the total spices
exported from the country. The total quantity exported during 2003-04 was 86,575 tons worth
Rs.366.8 crores (US $ 79.95. Chilli powder, dried chillies, pickled chillies and chilli oleoresins
are some of the forms in which this crop is exported.

The major importers of chillies from India are, United States of America, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom , Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Germany

Major spot markets

Andhra Pradesh : Guntur, Warangal, Hindpur, Khammam. Guntur is Asia's largest market for
chillies

Karnataka : Raichur, Bellary in

Chilli is traded in the commodity futures exchanges namely

o National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange of India ltd and
 o Multi Commodity Exchange of India ltd

Factors to be considered while Trading

• Carry over stocks: leftover stocks from the previous year’s production after meeting the demand.
• Expected demand: average level of consumption and exports during the past few years
• Crop acreage: Extent of area sown under the crop

• Production: Estimated output based on the acreage and weather conditions and pest infestation etc.,
• Imports and exports: in case of pulses, the traders need to know the details of important sources and destinations
of the external trade. Further, the traders need to monitor the crop status in the respective countries

• Government policies: any change in government policy relating to the crops

Region/District-wise Area and Production of Chillies in Andhra Pradesh

(1998-1999 to 2004-2005)
(Area in Hec. & Production in M.Ts.)
1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
Prod- Prod- Prod-
Region Area District Area uction Area uction Area uction Area
Srikakulam 3539 7411 3249 6498 3060 6325 2852
Vijaya
Nagaram 3392 7395 3223 6446 2713 5809 2569
Vishakha-
patnam 5552 10693 4931 9862 4946 11553 4672
East
Godawari 2131 5573 1825 3650 1407 3508 1564
West
Godawari 5723 10735 4488 8976 5110 7566 4298
Krishna 12213 40232 12985 25970 10939 34115 11208
Guntur 36880 131427 59256 118512 50958 149335 51567
Prakasam 18895 35596 25519 51038 20990 40168 18267
Nellore 3281 9260 3652 7304 2520 7911 1996
Coastal Total 91606 258322 119128 238256 102643 266290 98993
Rayala- Chittoor 3780 5032 3370 6740 3199 3826 3401
seema Cuddapa 5046 7658 6246 12492 5046 7350 5465
Anata-
puram 4154 10171 5199 10398 3825 10227 3873
Karnool 10839 12670 13207 26414 13341 14999 14984
Andhra Region Total 23819 35531 28022 56044 25412 36402 27723
Telan- Telan- Mehaboob
gana Region gana Nagar 11622 16617 14251 28502 12041 15761 10923
Ranga
Reddy 2941 3420 3621 7242 3102 6298 2976
Hyderabad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Medak 9961 8796 10045 20090 8413 9953 7786
Nizamabad 2821 6202 2931 5862 2700 5715 2648
Adilabad 6671 4997 8980 17960 10106 9009 6528
Karim
Nagar 12010 22711 12036 24072 11963 26577 9313
Warangal 30605 71444 33088 66176 28672 68014 27538
Khamam 20667 61864 25372 50744 23692 70877 22095
Nalgonda 9834 35506 10315 20630 9258 11268 8305
Total 107132 231557 120639 241278 109947 223474 98112
Andhra
Pradesh 222557 525410 267789 535578 238002 526166 224828

Source : Department of Horticulture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.