Punjab is likely to procure more basmati (aromatic rice) this year compared to last year as the state has already crossed last year’s procurement figure while the arrival of basmati in the mandis is continuing.
This year the arrival of basmati in state mandis is faster than last year. Only 6.80 lakh tonnes (LT) basmati of the total arrivals last season (14.13 LT) could reach the mandis by November 14, 2021, against 14.17 LT this year.
Also, farmers are reaping rich dividends this year as the crop is being purchased at Rs 2,665 to Rs 5,420 per quintal (depending on different varieties of the basmati) against Rs 2,200 to Rs 3,950 per quintal last year.
Till November 14, Amritsar has recorded the maximum arrivals of the crop with 4.89 LT followed by Fazilka, Patiala, Tarn Taran, and Sangrur where 2.56 LT, 1.52 LT, 1.25 LT, and 1.21 LT of basmati arrivals, respectively, were recorded.
Also, 92,128 tonnes of basmati has reached Gurdaspur’s mandis, while the markets of Ferozepur, Shri Muktsar Sahib, Mansa, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Kapurthala and Bathinda have received 46,315 tonnes, 33,564 tonnes, 29,844 tonnes, 28,257 tonnes, 21,648 tonnes, 6,805 tonnes and 5,014 tonnes of basmati, respectively.
The remaining districts have received between 2,600 tonnes and 22 tonnes barring Ropar and Barnala where zero arrival of basmati was witnessed.
Basmati is one of the most suitable alternatives to the water-guzzling paddy (parmal rice) crop. Also, its stubble is not burned by the farmers as they make fodder of it as there is a huge demand for basmati stubble fodder among the cattle-rearers.
But for the past some years the area under basmati crop is not increasing at the desired level and remains somewhere between 4 lakh hectares and around 5 lakh hectares only while the paddy area has witnessed a record increase. In 2020-21 it touched 27.43 lakh hectares – the highest in the history of paddy cultivation in the state – while the basmati area was reduced to 4.06 lakh hectares.
Because of the decrease in the cultivation area, the arrival of basmati has also started decreasing in the state. While the total basmati arrival was 25.54 LT in 2019-20, it reduced to 18.34 LT in 2020-21 which further came down to 14.13 LT in 2021-22.
According to the Punjab Agriculture Department, which collects data in every district, this year nearly 4.50 lakh hectares of land is expected under basmati crop out of a total rice area of 30.52 lakh hectares. However, the exact figure will come out later when the Revenue Department collects data through crop inspection (girdawari) and sends it to Punjab Agriculture Department, which further sends it to the Union Ministry of Agriculture.