Chillies or Chilly Pepper or Red Pepper are ripened dried fruits of a bushy plant of genus Capsicum belonging to the Solanaceae family. There are a number of domesticated and cultivated species of the plant across the world. Two of the most commonly cultivated species are:

1. Capsicum annum
2. Capsicum fruitescens

The ripened dried pods are characterized by their bright red to deep crimson colour and mild to very hot taste. They are typically used for making food preparations hot and spicy as well as adding the distinct red tinge to the final product.

Chillies in India

India is known to produce all variants of chillies, right from low heat to extremely high heat variants and low to extremely high colour variants.India is the largest producer and exporter of Chillies in the world. Chillies are primarily grown in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and to a small extent in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and North East. India is the proud producer of hottest chilly in the world, grown on the slopes of the hills of Nagaland, popularly known as Naga Chilli. This is also known as Bhoot Jholokia  or Ghost Chillies in some other parts of India.

India produces an average of 900000 MT of Chillies annually of which about 14% – 15% is exported to various countries across the globe.

Chillies @ ITC

ITC Spices' Chilli basket has the entire bandwidth on offer. The supply chain team continuously endeavours towards dis-intermediation, reaching directly to the farm gate, promoting the cultivation of desired varieties with the best of agricultural practices, thus ensuring augmented availability of desired varieties with in-demand attributes. With a dedicated team of highly qualified professionals at work at the Spices Laboratory, the team ensures dherence to stringent requirements of its customers with regards to Heat and Colour besides relevant quality parameters like Aflatoxin, Pesticide residues, etc. ITC Spices take pride in having one of the largest captive cultivation programmes in India for chillies - IPM Chillies (Pesticide Residue Free), spread in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, trials in Paprika, varietal trials covering a range of attributes and organic chilli cultivation. The IPM Chilli programme, into its fourth year, is one of the most popular programmes across its global customer base, especially the European, American, Japanese and South African markets.

Varietal Portfolio

		HEAT
		High	Medium	Low
C O L O R	High	Heat: > 60000 SHU Colour: > 120 ASTA	Heat: 30000 – 60000 SHU Colour: > 120 ASTA	Heat: < 30000 SHU Colour: > 120 ASTA
	Medium	Heat: > 60000 SHU Colour: 60 – 120 ASTA	Heat: 30000 – 60000 SHU Colour: 60 – 120 ASTA	Heat: < 30000 SHU Colour: 60 – 120 ASTA

ITC Spices, backed by the support of its excellent Supply Chain Team and well equipped Laboratory, is fully capable of catering to specific blend requirements in terms of the Heat and Colour value of the final product.