Chillies are new apple of Valley eye

Abdul Khaliq Channa, a farmer from North Kashmir, is at least partly responsible for the upswing in production. ‘‘Good cash prospects and export demand convinced me to switch from other vegetables to chilli,’’ he says, adding that more and more farmers were now making the change.

With markets in Europe, South Africa, Central Asia and Middle-East taking a fancy to the Kashmiri chilli, more than 12 big processing units have come up in the Valley in the past seven years. Most of these units feed the export markets’ demand for oleoresin.

‘‘We can’t even meet the international demand, it is so high,’’ says Farood Ahmad, who owns the largest processing plant in the Valley and exports to 11 countries.

According to Dr Nazir, head of the olerio-culture department at the Sher-i-Kashmir Agriculture University (SKAU), the bright colour and moderate pungency swing the scales for the Kashmiri chilli. ‘‘Quality-wise too, our chilli is preferred to the varieties cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states.’’

The most-preferred Valley-grown chilli varieties, in demand in India and abroad, are the Kashmiri Longone, Pampori and Shopiani. Of these, the first was developed at the SKAU and, claims Nazir, changed the status of the Kashmiri chilli.

‘‘Apart from its unique colour and pungency, farmers are able to reap a good harvest. It is wilt-resistent and, as a cash crop, it works since it yields 35-40 quintals of dry chilli per hectare of land,’’ says Nazir.

Most importantly, perhaps, the Longone produces good quality chilli powder and oleoresin on processing. ‘‘Oleoresin is in high demand in both the national and the international markets,’’ says Nazir.

‘‘One drop of oleoresin is equivalent to 100 gm of powdered chilli. Besides tasting quite distinct, the Kashmiri chilli oleoresin is affordable when compared to the other varieties available internationally.’’