After drying, my chilli sometimes loses colour, gets insect damage and black mould in storage. How do I store and grade it for the best price?
Storage decides whether your dry chilli keeps the value you built up by good drying. First, store only fully dried chilli at a safe low moisture, because residual moisture is what causes black mould and aflatoxin, which leads to rejection especially for export and processing buyers. Store in clean, dry, airtight conditions away from moisture and direct sun which fades colour. Storage insects like the cigarette beetle and pod borer damage the pods, so store in clean containers, keep the store dry and hygienic, and follow recommended safe storage practices, while cold storage is used for long holding to preserve colour and reduce insect and quality loss. Grade by colour, pod length, cleanliness and the presence of damage and mould, since bright, full, clean, mould free pods fetch a clear premium over dull, broken, infested lots. Track rates on Agmarknet and ask your KVK about clean drying and storage methods and any cold store options.
Buyers in our market check carefully for black mould pods and dock the rate heavily. Drying down fully and storing dry is the only way to avoid that cut.
Cold storage for the dry chilli held the colour and kept the insects out for me when I needed to hold for several months. At room storage the cigarette beetle got in and the colour faded. The cold store rent was worth it for the better colour grade I sold at later.
Grading before selling clearly paid. I separate the bright long clean pods from the broken, dull and damaged ones and sell them as different lots, instead of one mixed heap. The premium grade fetched a much better rate, and the buyer trusts a properly sorted lot.
Storing in clean, dry, airtight bags away from damp kept the cigarette beetle out of my dry chilli. In open sacks in a humid corner the insects got in and the pods got dust and mould. Keeping the store hygienic and the chilli sealed dry preserved the colour and grade.
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