Farmers in Punjab are worried. The Israel–Iran war has them on tenterhooks. At the heart of the problem is a variety of rice that finds a mention in the legendary story of Heer Ranjha. Puzzled? Right. You’re wondering what’s the connection here.
Well, it’s the paddy sowing season in Punjab and farmers can’t decide whether to grow more Basmati or not. The reason: the sharp decline in Basmati prices triggered by the latest war in the Middle East.
But before we get into what’s happening today, here’s a bit of historical context.
The word Basmati, name of a variety of rice known for its distinctive fragrance, is derived from Sanskrit words ‘vas’ which means aroma and ‘mayup’ which translates to ‘ingrained.’ The two words, when combined, make vasmati, which is popularly known as Basmati.
Historically, this variety of rice finds its first mention in the epic Heer Ranjha, composed by Waris Shah in 1766. According to some records, during the 19th century, Basmati caught the attention of the British colonial rulers in India. They recognised the commercial potential of the rice variety and started exporting it to the Middle East and Europe. This is when Basmati became popular across the world.
Cut to the present day – and India remains the world’s largest producer of Basmati, accounting for almost 77 percent of global production. This also means India is the top exporter of Basmati rice in the world.
While India is the largest exporter of the grain, the top market for Indian Basmati is in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran accounting for around 75 percent of demand. Iran, which in the past used to be the largest buyer of Indian Basmati, has seen some drop in demand in recent years due to geopolitical complications. However, it still is the third-largest importer of India’s produce.
In April this year, Basmati prices had declined due to weak global demand. As this happened, countries like Iran started buying more of it at lower prices.
According to an Economic Times report, this jump in exports boosted prices by around 15 to 20 percent, pushing it to $950-1,000 per tonne. But with the latest conflict triggering renewed fears of heightened freight and shipment complications, prices have already fallen by almost five percent.
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Now, that’s what is worrying the exporters in Punjab – which is the hub of India’s Basmati trade. And that’s also what has the farmers in the state worried as the paddy sowing season kicks in.
Whether to grow Basmati or other rice varieties – the choice of farmers in Punjab will be influenced by what’s happening around 2,500 kilometres away.
