What makes Kashmiri mongra, a flower which has medicinal property and is used to provide aroma to sweets and milk, costly? It is the very complicated method of cultivation of Kashmiri mongras -- from which saffron is obtained -- and the process of separation of saffron from the rest of the unusable portion of the flower that make it costlier than other agricultural or horticultural produces, according according to Vicky Arora of the Delhi-based JP Kesarwal Co.Moreover, in the entire country it is only in Kashmir that mongra is grown. Of a total of about 25,000 flowers, one can obtain hardly about a pound of the real saffron that can be marketed.
The present -- July 1, 1998 -- rate going for saffron in Delhi is around Rs 47,000 per kilogramme. Last year, saffron cost Rs 48,000 to Rs 49,000 per kg. At one time in April this year the commodity fetched even Rs 50,000 to 55,000 per kg. Arora says Indian saffron export volume is almost nil. Dubai and Spain have the major international market share for saffron.The season for saffron is generally during Diwali festival.
The seeds that have been sown around monsoons, start their yield around Diwali.As for production fluctuations, the commodity suffered heavy loss during 1996 because of excess rains. Otherwise, generally there has been a good supply position. About five years ago the commodity used to fetch around Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 per kilogramme as against the 1998 price of Rs 47,000 per kilogramme.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
