The prices of red chilli peppers are surging as output in top exporter India is set to drop by a fifth from a year ago, hit by an invasive pest attack and damage from unseasonal rain in key southern producing states.
Lower production has boosted prices by 80% in four months to a record high and prices are likely to stay high through the year, forcing overseas buyers to shell out more at a time when the prices of fuel and other food ingredients are also soaring.