India's chilli exports slumped 27 per cent to 82,000 tonnes in the first half of 2009-10 fiscal as Pakistan, its third largest buyer, did not buy the commodity from here at all, the Spice Board said.
The chilli shipments stood at 1.12 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year, it said.
"Pakistan did not import a single tonne of chilli from India, the world's largest producer of the commodity, because it harvested good crop this time owing to better climate," a senior official with the Board said.
Chilli exports to Pakistan remained zero during the April-September period this fiscal, compared with 25,000 tonnes in the year-ago period, he said.
"Besides, better production in Pakistan, higher prices of Indian chilli has compelled the neighbouring country to shift to China," a Karvy Comtrade analyst Kumari Amrita said.
Currently, Indian chilli is expensive in the global market and is ruling at about Rs 5,800 per quintal. "As a result, Pakistan is buying from China as prices are lower by Rs 200 per quintal compared to India," she said.
The domestic prices have shot up due to an estimated 15 per cent drop in production at 10 lakh tonnes this year, she noted, adding that acreage under the crop is down 24 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, the main growing state.
The Spice Board official, however, was optimistic that an increased demand from Sri Lanka, the US, Malaysia and Canada is likely to off-set the gap.
