Dip in yield, prices of basmati

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, November 4

It is a double whammy of low yield and falling prices for basmati growers in the area this time.

This summer season, inclement weather conditions led to 12 to 15 per cent fall in basmati paddy yield. The fall in crop output is more painful for farmers as the basmati rice prices are between Rs2,400 and Rs2,700 per quintal for the popular 1121, 1509 and 1718 varieties of rice. The prices of basmati were between Rs3,400 and Rs3,800 per quintal last season.

With the starting of arrival of basmati at mandis here, the growers are disappointed. They were hopeful of earning more profit in comparison to the growers of other verities of rice.

“On an average, farmers, who cultivate other varieties of rice, earn between Rs48,000 and Rs52,000 per acre. But basmati growers earn hardly Rs42,000 per acre,” said Bakhshish Singh, a farmer who brought his produce to the mandi on Sunday.

Besides 12 to 15 per cent loss in production, the crashing basmati prices have added to their woes, said another farmer Kewal Singh.

The fall in basmati yield has been attributed to the prolonged summer season when the daily temperature was above the critical threshold. “Exposure to an extreme temperature that exceeds the critical threshold of the crop has a strong negative effect on the yield,” said Baljinder Singh Brar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Faridkot.

“In the ripening phase of paddy, which is subdivided into milky, dough, yellow, ripe, and maturity stages, the crop was exposed to more number of hotter days than the threshold, leading to shrinkage of the grain after milky stage. Besides the high temperature, high humidity had drastic adverse impact on pollination. It reduced the overall formation of grains in plants,” said Brar.

The fall in prices has been attributed to a dip in the export of the premium quality rice in the current financial year. The sale in abroad is also not so promising in the coming fiscal year.

There is no minimum support price (MSP) for basmati. As the buyers are private traders and exporters, the prices are fixed according to the quality of the produce. The price index is decided on the basis of demand in the international market.

Though India is a largest exporter of basmati, its demand in many consumer countries is dwindling every passing year due to poor quality.

Double whammy for farmers

This summer season, inclement weather conditions led to 12 to 15 per cent fall in basmati paddy yield. The fall in crop output is more painful for farmers as the basmati rice prices are between Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,700 per quintal for the popular 1121, 1509 and 1718 varieties of rice. The prices of basmati were between Rs 3,400 and Rs 3,800 per quintal last season.