Kashmir saffron story scripts a revival, prices see a spike of 75%

Kashmir saffron is now about five times costlier than silver.

A 10 gm packet of saffron costs as much as 47 gm of silver - about ₹3,250. Saffron prices in the Kashmir valley have skyrocketed to ₹3.25 lakh per kg, from ₹2 lakh per kg last year, after the precious crop from the Valley got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. A GI tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation due to that origin. The tag has helped the domestic spice fight off competition in global markets from Iranian saffron, as the Kashmiri crop is clearly seen as the genuine article.

The golden crop, which brings colour, flavour and aroma to biryani and many other dishes, is scripting a revival. Its per-hectare production has increased manifold, bringing cheer to growers who had been seeing a constant decline.


"Kashmir saffron is the only GI-tagged saffron in the world. Now buyers from the US, Canada and Europe have started picking up saffron from Kashmir," said Choudhary Mohammad Iqbal, agriculture director, Kashmir. "Farmers are getting good prices for their crop and traders too are making good money."

Rehman Ahmed, owner of Dalijheel Saffron Co in Kashmir's saffron centre of Pampore, agrees. "The GI tag has really helped saffron planters," he said. "Earlier, saffron farmers were getting ₹1.30-1.5 lakh per kg. Now, that has shot up to ₹1.8-2 lakh per kg."

'Iranian saffron sold as Indian'
Farmers sometimes fail to take measures to rejuvenate their crop, which brings down productivity, said Irfan Kungwani, owner of Data Kesar. But Kashmir's farmers have been able to overcome the challenge from the Iranian product, especially that posing as the real thing. "Saffron from Iran has been creating a lot of trouble in the global markets for Indian saffron," said Kungwani. "It was being sold as saffron from Kashmir. The GI tag, however, has been beneficial to stop the selling of Iranian saffron as Indian saffron." Kashmir produces 18 tonnes of saffron annually. The agriculture director said the ultimate goal is to take saffron production to 25-27 tonnes in the years to come. "After introduction of the National Saffron Mission to revive the crop, production started going up from 1.8 kg gradually, and has now reached close to 5 kg per hectare," said Iqbal.