Iranian saffron, a death blow to Kashmiri saffron: Zargar

Jammu, Jan 29 (UNI) Post 1990's liberal economic politics pursued by the Congress-led central government has dealt a big blow to Kashmiri saffron as it has been pushed out from the national market by the much cheaper Iranian saffron.

Making a statement in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, the State Agriculture Minister Abdul Zargar sketched out a dark picture of the Saffron trade in the state.

Mr Zargar admitted the imports of cheaper Iranian saffron did pose a competition for saffron grown in the state particularly after the liberalisation of trade under World Trade Organization agreement. There were also reports that Iranian saffron was being used to adulterate Kashmiri saffron and sold as Kashmiri saffron, he added.

However, the Minister informed that the quality of Kashmiri saffron continued to be-regarded by trade as much better than that of Iranian one and the farmer fetched better prices in the market.

The production of saffron had also suffered due to a prolonged drought faced by the areas where Saffron is grown and there were areas where residential buildings were replacing the traditional saffron fields, he said.

''Also the production of saffron has fallen. In Kashmir, the practice was to alternate saffron growing with paddy cultivation, which recharges the soil with organic material. But this has not been followed in practice,'' Mr Zargar said.

Expert on the issue, Agricultural Scientist and Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture department officer, Moin Gyassuddin says, ''Saffron farmers of mostly poor economic class had carved out a niche for themselves in the domestic market with their superior saffron, which is the backbone of the local economy.'' ''A kilogram of saffron fetches Rs 35,000 in the local market. However, its extraction is not easy. It is a painstaking job removing the stigmas. Extraction from over 1.5 lakh flowers makes one kilogram,'' he said.

Mr Moin elaborated, ''For instance, a gram of saffron produced here sells for Rs 40 to Rs 50; Iranian saffron is available at Rs 23 to Rs 30. What further pinches the farmers here is the fact that the middlemen continue to extract the lion's share of the profits, leaving little for the farmers. Profits margins are diminishing for the farmers who have been in the trade for centuries.'' The officer added his department had formulated a project for saffron growing areas which inter alia, focused on the provision of sprinkler type irrigation in order to help growers overcome the recurrent cycle of drought.

The project was being posed for assistance from the Central government and the state government had also introduced the saffron bill, 2006 in the state Legislature in order to provide for the regulation of quality of saffron and to ensure its genuineness for sale. The bill also sought to prohibit the conversion of land under saffron for other purposes.

UNI