Early Basmati variety hits Punjab markets, farmers fetch better opening price

This crop, however, is being procured by the private players now because the government will enter the market from October 1 when the main paddy varieties reach. With its good opening now the growers of the late Basmati variety — 1121 — which is a superior variety, are expecting good rates.

Ravinder Singh Cheema, president of Punjab Arhtiya Association, said currently over 1,000 metric tonnes of 1509 variety has reached Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Batala, Tarn Taran, Dhuri, Sunam, Phagwara, Fazilka and Sultanpur Lodhi grain markets.

“It is a very good opening in Punjab and Haryana. In Punjab, we are expecting around 2-3 lakh tonnes of this variety,” he said.

A farmer in Sultanpur Lodhi grain market said Basmati 1509 variety is sown by those who go for winter vegetable sowing.

This year total 30.42 lakh hectares was dedicated to the rice crop in the state, out of which 26.05 lakh hectare was under paddy (parmal) and 4.37 lakh hectare under Basmati, mostly 1121.

“We will be able to make up for our past losses,” said Satbir Singh of Sultanpur Lodhi who had brought his crop, cultivated on around two acres, on Thursday.

Agriculture department Director J S Bains said that the area under Basmati is less because farmers go for assured crops like paddy due its fixed price. “The trend of one year good and second year bad rates of Basmati deters farmers to take the risk of growing it. More Basmati area is needed in Punjab because more paddy means more exploitation of water table,” said he. Basmati area has come down from 8.61 lakh hectare in 2014 to 4.37 lakh hectare in 2018.