Madhya Pradesh's Khargone chillies set to spice up the world markets

This is the time of the year when fields abutting scores of villages in MP’s Khargone start turning red. Mounds and mounds of chillies dot the landscape of the district with the start of harvesting season.

These hot chillies are then dried, packed and dispatched to Khargone Mandi – one of Asia’s largest chilli markets. From here, these famous chillies make their way to various parts of the country, and even to Europe.

Now, as part of ‘One District One Product Scheme’, the state government and Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation are going to help set up 200 industrial units in Khargone. This will help farmers in finding new offshore markets for local chillies.

 

Chillies are cultivated in more than 45,000 hectares of area of the district.

Khargone-based farmer producer organisation (FPO) TerraGlebe cultivates chillies in 600 acres of land with 300 farmers and exports it to Europe.

Abhishek Patidar, Director of TerraGlebe, said, “Initially started as an FPO of 300 farmers, TerraGlebe’s turnover today is Rs 5 crore. We grow chillies using integrated pest management which reduces the cost by 20 per cent and fetches 10 per cent more price than normal chillies in the market.”

He said TerraGlebe is the first firm to export chillies from Khargone. He also said that with the help of the state government new export venues will be explored soon.

Nilesh Patidar, a local farmer, said that he cultivated chilli in four acres of land which cost him Rs 6 lakh and the produce was sold for Rs 16 lakh, giving a net profit of Rs 10 lakh.

Khargone District Magistrate Karmveer Sharma said that soon 200 micro and medium industries related to chillies and other products will be set up in the district. This will also create employment for the local people. These industries will be established under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme.

In the last five years, both the area and production of chilli in Khargone have almost doubled.

According to the Horticulture Department, while in 2018-19, 63,423 metric tonnes of chilli was produced in 25,369 hectares of area in the district, in 2022-23, 139,668 metric tonnes of chilli was produced in 46,556 hectares.