"Chilli will trade firm as it is strong technically and fundamentally," said Sudha Acharya, an analyst at Agriwatch. The fire has destroyed about 2 lakh bags (each of 35 kg) of chilli.
According to traders, output is expected to be below the original estimate. At the start of the season, the crop was estimated at around 2.9 crore bags, which has slashed to around 2.5 crore bags.
On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), chilli futures closed on Saturday at Rs 5,134 a quintal against the previous week's close of Rs 4,918, up 4.39 per cent.
Commodity experts put the immediate resistance level for the next week trade at Rs 5,340 a quintal and the support level at Rs 4,845 a quintal.