Amritsar, September 11
Excitement among farmers on getting a high price for the 1509 variety of basmati in the district has suddenly waned as the rates have dropped with the harvesting picking pace. After the harvesting started a week ago, cultivators were on the cloud nine as the variety was fetching a price as high as Rs 3,700 per quintal in the local markets.
A week later, the price has dropped to Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal. With the initial estimates putting the yield at 25 quintals per acre, which is better than the last season’s output, farmers are still satisfied.
The current prices are still more than the last year’s as the highest price last year was around Rs 2,800. However, it is being feared that price might dip in the coming days as more produce arrives in the markets.
Officials of the mandi board and farmers feel that high prices had forced the farmers to go for early harvesting which is the primary reason for the drop in the rates.
Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, president, Vegetable Growers’ Association, said, “After the news of high price spread, everybody jumped in to cash in on the situation.” He said traders lowered the rates as the supply in the markets increased.
This basmati variety has been grown on an area of over 50,000 hectares in the district.
Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Jatinder Singh Gill said, “The variety is the foremost choice for vegetable growers as the crop ripens early.” He said the hastened harvesting was resulting in more moisture in the grains and as such the prices had dropped. The basmati varieties are not procured by government under public distribution scheme. The market is controlled by private traders.
