Finally, farmers get better price for basmati

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 1

On Sunday, the day to begin procurement of wheat in the state, it was the paddy (basmati rice) that flooded the Faridkot grain market.

After holding their stock of slender-grained aromatic rice for more than four months, hoping to get a remunerative price, basmati farmers in the area have started commanding a better price for their produce now and are bringing their stock to the mandi to sell it to private traders.

Against Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,100 per quintal price of basmati (depending on moisture content) that the farmers fetched in October 2017, this aromatic variety of rice, PB 1121, is now getting farmers Rs 3,600 per quintal in Faridkot.

Tarsem Sachdeva, a commission agent in Faridkot, said the arrival of wheat in the mandi would start in the next week as the crop is yet to fully ripen in this region.

Higher demand for basmati from Iran and West Asia has further ignited the market of slender-grained rice.

Besides, the rising export is helping basmati farmers in the region to command a better price for their produce.

Not only rising export, even the rise in domestic consumption of the aromatic rice in the recent times is also a reason behind better price, said a commission agent at Kotkapura.

The Faridkot mandi is showing high arrival of basmati these days as compared to Kotkapura and the reason is that basmati is fetching an extra Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal in Faridkot.

While traders and rice millers in Kotkpaura are operating in a cartel, the Faridkot mandi is witnessing high competition among buyers, said a commission agent at Kotkapura, preferring anonymity.

The price of basmati in Kotkapura was about Rs 3,510 per quintal on Sunday but it was sold at Rs 3600-Rs 3,610 per quintal in Faridkot.

Due to this, many farmers of Kotkapura have brought their crop to Faridkot.

Arrivals are at their peak in Faridkot these days and the daily traded volume is around 5,000 to 7,000 bags (each of 50 kg) of basmati, sources in the Market Committee, Faridkot, said. The quantity is around 2,000 bags in Kotkapura.