The price of a kilogramme of green chillies in the local market currently ranges between Rs. 950 rupees and Rs. 1000.

Bad weather and a drop in supplies to the market have been cited as reasons for this unusually high price.

It was reported that many acres of chillie cultivation in Nochchiyagama have failed to provide a harvest. These farmers had been provided with seeds by a private company attached to the Department of Agriculture. Farmers who reap a harvest in two months usually flood the markets with 20,000 kilogrammes of green chillies per season.

However, even after five months, there has been no sight of even one green chillies in the 150 acres that have been cultivated. These farmers charge that the respective private company that provided them with the seeds has not come forward to compensate them.

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