They said that due to limited release of stock from cold storages, wholesale prices of this key spice commodity have surged by ₹5,000–6,000 per quintal in just the last three days. Such a sharp rise within such a short period has never been witnessed before. In the local wholesale grocery market, strong buying by stockists at every price level pushed 334 and 341 varieties of red chilli up by ₹4,000–5,000 per quintal to ₹20,000–22,500 and ₹21,000–23,000 per quintal respectively. Trade sources noted that these varieties had already risen by about ₹1,000 per quintal recently. Reports of sharp price increases from major producing mandis in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana further strengthened the bullish sentiment in the local market. Guntur mandi trader Jugraj Bhandari said arrivals of the new crop have increased to around 50,000 bags, while about 20,000 bags of the old crop are also arriving. Despite this, prices across various varieties have reached historic levels. He added that due to aggressive buying by stockists, Teja chilli jumped by ₹3,500 to trade at ₹17,500–19,500 per quintal. Similarly, 334 variety rose by ₹2,000–3,000 to ₹18,000–20,000 per quintal. Surpatten climbed by ₹3,000–3,500 to ₹19,000–21,000 per quintal, while 341 variety surged by ₹2,000–5,000 to ₹20,000–25,000 per quintal. Byadgi and Indo-5 varieties also firmed up by ₹2,000–3,500 to ₹18,500–21,000 per quintal. Fattaki chilli rose by ₹1,000–3,000 to ₹10,000–13,000 per quintal. Similar trends were seen in Telangana’s Warangal mandi, where Devnuri and Teja chillies rose by ₹2,000–3,000 to ₹17,000–19,500 and ₹17,500–20,000 per quintal respectively. The 341 variety jumped by ₹2,000–5,000 to ₹20,000–25,200 per quintal. Despite being around 30 percent weaker in quality, Fattaki chilli also gained ₹1,000–3,000 to trade at ₹10,000–13,000 per quintal. The main reason for the sudden spike is that although arrivals of the new crop are increasing, sales from cold storage stocks have dried up over the past three days, leading to a sharp shift in market sentiment. Stockists and outstation traders now believe that the expected decline in new crop production may be even steeper than earlier estimates, resulting in early signs of tightening arrivals in the mandis. He further noted that cyclone “Monta” had earlier caused significant damage to standing red chilli crops in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. While initial estimates of new crop production are already on the lower side, actual output could turn out to be even less. According to Spices Board data, red chilli exports during the first seven months of the current financial year (April–October 2025) jumped 31 percent year-on-year to 432,436 quintals, while export earnings rose 9 percent to ₹5,886.04 crore. Trade sources caution that the current sky-high prices could adversely impact wholesale and retail demand. Profit-booking selling may emerge in the coming days, and traders are advised to conduct business in red chillies with due caution.