Red chilli (mirchi) prices: Guntur, Teja and what moves prices

What this guide covers

Dry red chilli (mirchi) is one of the most traded crops in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and its price can differ by thousands of rupees a quintal between two lots in the same yard on the same day. This guide explains where chilli is grown and traded, the main varieties, how quality decides the price, the season and cold storage, what moves prices, and the latest prices across markets.

Where chilli is grown and traded

India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of chillies, and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana grow the largest share of the crop. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu follow. The Guntur market yard in Andhra Pradesh is often called Asia's largest chilli market; Khammam, Warangal (Enumamula) and other yards in Telangana, and Byadgi in Karnataka, are also major chilli markets.

Varieties: why one chilli is not like another

Chilli is sold by variety, and varieties are bought for different things. Teja is very hot and is wanted by exporters and by companies that extract chilli oleoresin. Sannam types such as 334 and 341 are the everyday hot chillies of the trade. Byadgi and other colour varieties are milder and are bought for their deep red colour, used in spice powders and food colouring. Because these varieties sell at very different prices, a market's daily median mixes very different chillies; our market pages follow each market's main variety so its history stays comparable.

How quality sets the price

Within a variety, buyers look at colour (measured in ASTA units in the export trade), pungency, moisture, the share of broken, spotted or discoloured pods, and whether the stalks are still on. Stemless (stalk-cut) chilli sells higher because the buyer gets more usable chilli per kilo. Lower grades with discoloured or damaged pods are traded separately and pull the day's minimum price down.

The season and cold storage

Chilli is planted around the monsoon and picked in rounds from about December, so arrivals in the yards build up in January and are heaviest from about February to April. Dried chilli keeps well in cold storage, so farmers and traders store a large part of the crop and sell it through the rest of the year. The amount sitting in cold storage is closely watched: big stocks tend to hold prices down until the next crop, while low stocks can push prices up in the months before it.

What moves chilli prices

The size of the Telugu states' crop matters most: pests such as thrips, too much rain at picking time or a dry spell can cut yields and quality. Export demand is the second big force; buyers in China, Bangladesh, Thailand and other Asian countries, and oleoresin makers at home, can lift prices of particular varieties quickly. Farmers' choices also feed back: a year of high prices often leads to more planting, and a bigger crop the year after.

The latest mirchi prices

On 15 Oct, the median mandi price of mirchi across the markets that reported it that day was ₹19,750 per quintal; 44 markets reported it in the last 30 days. Our mirchi page lists every state and market, with the lowest and highest prices and charts.

Week by week

Over the last 8 weeks, the weekly median price moved from ₹19,000 per quintal (week ending 23 Aug 2026) to ₹19,000 per quintal (week ending 11 Oct 2026), about the same. Each figure is the median of every price that markets reported that week (Monday to Sunday).

Week ending	Median price	Markets (busiest day)
11 Oct 2026	₹19,000 per quintal	20
4 Oct 2026	₹19,750 per quintal	18
27 Sep 2026	₹20,350 per quintal	14
20 Sep 2026	₹19,000 per quintal	14
13 Sep 2026	₹20,000 per quintal	15
6 Sep 2026	₹19,000 per quintal	11
30 Aug 2026	₹19,000 per quintal	13
23 Aug 2026	₹19,000 per quintal	14

Cheaper and dearer months

Across 10 full years of records between 2006 and 2025, mirchi has usually been cheapest in July and dearest in December. The table shows how far each month's median has typically been above or below its year's average. It describes past patterns, not a forecast: a bad season or a bumper crop can break it.

Month	Usual gap to the year's average
January	+5.9%
February	+3.6%
March	+4.1%
April	+1.6%
May	-1.1%
June	-8.5%
July	-10.2%
August	-4.3%
September	-1.6%
October	-3.1%
November	+4.0%
December	+9.8%

Chilli in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

For farmers in Guntur, Prakasam, Krishna, Khammam, Warangal, Mahabubabad and nearby districts, chilli is often the biggest earner of the year. Our Telangana and Andhra Pradesh pages, in English and Telugu, list each yard's minimum, maximum and modal price per quintal for the main variety, with a 30-day table and the history behind it.

How to read our mirchi pages

The mirchi page shows the median across all reporting markets, prices by state, the lowest and highest markets and a chart over time. Each market page has its main variety, the day's other varieties and grades, and a 30-day table. Every price carries its date; an old price is never shown as today's.

Common questions

Why does Teja cost more than other chillies? It is very hot and in demand for export and oleoresin, so buyers pay for pungency; colour varieties like Byadgi are paid for colour instead.

When are chilli prices usually lowest? In our records (10 full years between 2006 and 2025), mirchi has usually been cheapest in July and dearest in December. A poor or bumper crop can change that in any one year.

Why do two lots in the same yard sell at such different prices? Variety, colour, pungency, moisture and the share of damaged pods all differ from lot to lot, and the day's minimum and maximum reflect that range.

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