| Even though the government market yard in the city is flooded with fresh chilli crop, prices, instead of falling, may remain steady in the Rs 5,700-6,000 a quintal range for two-three months. |
| This was felt by Atul Shah, head - commodities, Emkay Commotrade, one of the top consulting firms on metals and commodities in Asia. |
| Prices might see a downtrend in April and move up again in July, market sources said. |
| He was in Guntur to study the commodities market in depth and explore scope for expanding Emkay's branches in Andhra Pradesh from the present 6 to 25 this year. |
| Emkay operates a Rs 130 crore worth network of 140 branches across the country. The firm diversified into the retail segment three years ago and plans to set up offices even in small towns and mandis. |
| Shah said he had found a number of cold storages around Guntur empty. Last year's crop stored in about 40 cold storages completely dried up. So traders may vie with one another to snatch the year's bumper crop and store it to reap profits in the future. |
| According to sources, the quality of fresh chilli is good, and smart farmers would prefer to store it. Chilli exports continued to look up, they added. |
| As for turmeric, the situation witnessed currently might continue till fresh crop arrived, Shah said, adding pulses might not see last year's peaks. |
| Tamil Nadu achieved a very good harvest of blackgram, which would lead to a price slidedown, market sources said. |
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