New Delhi

The world’s second hottest chilli Bhoot Jolokia (Ghost pepper) also called Raja Mirchi that grows naturally in Nagaland has reached London as the demand for crops with Geographical Indications (GI) from the northeast region increases.

According to an official information, the first consignment of  King Chilli, sourced from Tening, Peren district of  Nagaland, was packed at the pack house of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) at Guwahati, for sending it to the UK. 

Bhoot Jolokia got GI certification in 2008. It’s rated on Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) at 1,041,427 SHU, whereas the world’s hottest chilli Carolina Reaper reaches 2.2 Million SHU. 

The Chilli was first sent to a laboratory testing in June and July for confirming its organic origins and the results confirmed the claim of the grower. The entire process was coordinated by the APEDA and  the  Nagaland State Agricultural Marketing Board (NSAMB).

Commerce and Texttile Minister gave this information on the Twitter:

पूर्वोत्तर भारत की मिर्च का तीखापन,
नागालैंड से चलकर, पहुंचा लंदन

📖 https://t.co/ZjpGh6jmXd pic.twitter.com/SBWLe4pQT9

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 28, 2021

APEDA said exporting fresh King Chilli posed a challenge because of its highly perishable nature.

Minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted pictures of him and his wife Laxmi Puri buying Bhot Jolokia in a market place in Nagaland.

Minister Hardeep Puri and his wife buying Bhoot jolokia in Meghalya (Twitter)

Nagaland King Chilli belongs to genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae. It has been considered among the world’s hottest chilli and is constantly on the top five in the list of the world's hottest chilies based on the SHUs.

APEDA would continue to focus on the north eastern region and has been carrying out promotional activities to bring the North-Eastern states on the export map. In 2021, APEDA has facilitated exports of Jackfruits from Tripura to London and Germany, Assam Lemon to London, Red rice of Assam to the United States and Leteku ‘Burmese Grape’ to Dubai.