ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded slight growth in both chili cultivation and production during the 2025–26 season, with Sindh maintaining its position as the country’s leading producer, official data shows.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the total cultivated area under chili rose 1.1 percent to 49,500 hectares, up from 49,000 hectares a year earlier. Production edged up 0.5 percent to 114,400 tons from 113,800 tons in 2024–25. However, the national average yield fell marginally by 0.6 percent to 2,312 kilograms per hectare, compared with 2,325 kilograms previously.
Sindh continued to dominate chili production, contributing nearly three-quarters of the national output with 85,300 tons harvested from 35,700 hectares — almost unchanged from the previous year’s 35,600 hectares. Punjab followed with 17,800 tons, marking a 1.1 percent decline despite a 1.5 percent expansion in sown area to 6,900 hectares.
Balochistan reported a 2.9 percent rise in production to 10,500 tons, supported by a 3.2 percent increase in cultivated area to 6,500 hectares from 6,300 hectares. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) registered the sharpest increase, with both area and production surging 56 percent, though its overall contribution remained small at 800 tons.
Yield trends showed a mixed picture across the provinces. Punjab’s average yield declined 2.5 percent to 2,579.7 kilograms per hectare, down from 2,647.1 kilograms, while Sindh maintained its strong yield performance at 2,389.4 kilograms per hectare. Balochistan and KP reported stable yields compared to last season.
In terms of performance against official targets, Punjab achieved about 90 percent of its production goal and 87.3 percent of its area target. KP fell short by 22 percent in area and 21 percent in production, while Balochistan exceeded both its cultivation and production targets by 8.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively, reflecting a modest 2.6 percent gain in yield.
Sindh, which accounts for more than 70 percent of Pakistan’s total chili output, missed its production target by 26.4 percent but maintained steady yields over the past two seasons.
Agricultural analysts attribute the uneven performance to variations in rainfall, irrigation availability, and pest management, though they note that steady production growth signals resilience in the country’s chili sector.
