Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Agriculture, Cooperation and Marketing Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Wednesday has clarified that the minimum support price (MSP) for mirchi  has not been announced so far with the intention that farmers will suffer if the government announces minimum support price in the wake of the growing demand for mirchis  in the open market.

Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat,he said, "Our mirchis  used to be exported to Sri Lanka, China, Malaysia and other countries, but as these countries started cultivating mirchi  crop on their own, the exports have come down drastically. But now due to poor crop in China, the mandate has again become dependent on our crop and as a result, mirchi  prices have gone up drastically,” the minister said.

He clarified that in such a situation, the government has not yet announced the minimum support price for the mirchi  crop as there is a possibility of farmers incurring huge losses if the government announces the minimum support price for mirchi  . He said that this year, mirchi  cultivation in nearly 2 lakh acres has come down as some of the farmers have shifted to alternative crops such as cotton, maize, pulses and others keeping in mind the profitability.

The Minister also stated that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is going to Delhi today to request the government to extend all possible help to the mirchi  farmers in the state and expressed hope that the results of the talks will be promising.

"However, it is ironical that the leader of the main opposition party is trying to politicize and throw mud on our government by distorting all these issues. It is alleged that the mirchi  rate has come down to Rs 13,000 per quintal, but the highest prices of mirchis  in last 10 years are Rs 13,600/- per quital. Only in the last two years, due to some reasons internationally, the chilli farmer has been paid Rs 20,000” the Minister said.