Atchanna slams YSRCP ‘false propaganda’ on chilli prices
Minister for agriculture and marketing K Atchannaidu addressing the media at the Secretariat on Wednesday
- Asserts that the state govt is committed to protect interests of chilli farmers
- Calling YSRCP chief Jagan’s bluff, the agriculture minister points out that maximum price for chilli has been Rs 13,600 per quintal in the past one decade contrary to the claims that it was Rs 27,000 earlier
- States that exports to China and Malaysia have been decreasing as those countries are cultivating the crop themselves, thus pulling down the prices
Vijayawada : Minister for agriculture K Atchannaidu said that the state government has been making efforts to protect the interests of chilli farmers. He said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu left for Delhi to discuss the issue of providing minimum support price (MSP) to chillies with the Centre.
Speaking to media persons at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the minister said that if the state government fixes MSP for chillies, the farmers will be at a loss as the demand for chillies in international market is increasing.
He said that the chilli farmers used to get better price as chillies are being exported to China and Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Now those countries are also cultivating chillies resulting in fall in chilli exports. He said the chilli cultivation area also reduced as farmers are opting for alternative crops. The minister said that Chandrababu Naidu wrote four letters to the Central government seeking increase in chilli MSP.
The minister condemned the false propaganda by YSRCP and its chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on chilli prices. He said the maximum price of chillies stood at Rs 13,600 per quintal in the past one decade. He said the previous TDP government sanctioned Rs 138 crore market intervention fund to protect the chilli prices in 2017.
Director of agriculture department S Dilli Rao, director of marketing and Rythu Bazars Vijaya Suneeta were present.
