<i>Chilli to be dearer</i>

Our Correspondent, Nilphamari

31 August 2009, 17:00 PM

Chilli may be more pungent in the coming days as it sees soaring price following damage of plants on several hundred hectares of lands during the recent heavy rain in the district, one of the country's biggest chilli producing areas. Chilli was cultivated on 3000 hectares of land in the district in this season but plants on about 800 hectares have been damaged due to the recent downpour for several days, Agriculture Extension Department sources said. Chilli should be cultivated on high lands where water does not stand but the ongoing heavy rain has flooded the chilli fields and failure to drain out the stagnant water has resulted in damage of one third of the chilli plants in the area. Kishoreganj and Dimla upazilas are best chilli producing areas in the district that supplies large amount of chilli to Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and other big cities by trucks. As the recent damage has made chilli less available in the area, the popular spice sees higher price and reduced transportation. Chilli sold for Tk 80 -- 100 a kg in the local markets for the last one month but the price has risen up to Tk 120-130 during the last one week. Consumers apprehend that the present disaster might lead to its price hike further, making a dent in the users' purse in the month of Ramadan.