"International Herald Guide" article: "This year, as long as we can grow chili peppers, even the worst variety may be higher in price than the good varieties of previous years." This is what reporters heard most from chili growers in main dry chili production areas such as Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Hubei.
During an interview in Tiandeng County, Guangxi, large-scale chili grower Lu Rimin said that judging by the current drought situation, a considerable portion of chili growing points have already withered, and in some places, the chili roots have died due to lack of water. A reduction of 30-40% in chili production is certain.
Zeng Tiegang, the Executive Vice President of the Guangxi Agricultural Products Wholesale Trading Association, analyzed that with the increasingly severe drought in southwestern China, the total output of dry chilies in the drought-stricken areas will decrease by about 80% compared to the same period last year.
Chili procurement agent Xu Tianming also told reporters that he had just returned from Guizhou and Yunnan, where out of 88 counties and districts in Guizhou, 83 have already suffered from serious droughts. Over 100,000 chili-growing households are facing the risk of complete crop failure and significant reductions in yield.
Xu Tianming, who has been engaged in chili sales for a long time, believes that a significant reduction in chili yields in the southwestern drought areas is inevitable, with the possibility of complete crop failure exceeding 60%. There have already been many merchants paying "deposits" to farmers to reserve this year's August chili harvest.
During interviews in Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and other places, reporters found that chili prices have already risen to 50 yuan per kilogram, far exceeding the historical high of 40 yuan per kilogram.
Some chili dealers told reporters that due to a sharp reduction in production, dry chili prices have already risen once in 2009. However, dry chili prices will definitely rise significantly again in 2010. Chili prices could potentially rise to 60 yuan per kilogram and might even break through the 70-yuan-per-kilogram barrier.