India
Saffron
Farm Locations
Although India has the second largest land area under cultivation amongst saffron-producing countries, it does not produce as much saffron per hectare when compared with some of the other countries including Spain, Greece, and Italy.
Cultivated in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir at altitudes between 1585 to 1677 m above sea level, majority of the produce comes from the district of Pampore, an agricultural heritage site as declared by the Food and Agricultural Organization. There is about 3200 hectares of land under cultivation in the Pampore region with more than 25000 families involved in growing this crop.
To keep up with the demand for saffron in India and in other countries across the globe, various Indian government agricultural agencies are working towards increasing the per hectare yield of the crop and also trialing newer regions within the country where saffron can potentially be grown on a commercial scale.
Harvesting Season
Saffron is an annual crop and is harvested from late October and mid-November in Kasmir, India.
Grades of Indian Saffron
As per interational trading standards, saffron from India is classified into 5 different grades, these are the different parts of the same flower.
Mongra or Mogra: The highest grade of Kashmiri saffron in terms of taste and colour that it imparts to the food it is added to, characterised by its deep red colour. This is saffron in its purest form and contains only the stigma of the flower.
Lachha: The second type of Kashmiri saffron is termed laccha saffron and consists of the stigma along with its yellow tail. The yellow tail is left intact to increase the weight of the final product.
Zarda: This grade consists of only the tail end of the stigma and is characterised by its yellow colour.
Gucchi: This grade of saffron gets its name from the way the produce is packed by the farmers in a particular village called Poochal in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. In terms of quality, the gucchi grade is similar to the laccha grade i.e. it includes the red stigma with the yellow tail, the only difference is that the gucchi grade is tied in a bunch after harvesting with cotton strings whereas the laccha grade is sold loose.
Choora: This is saffron in a powdered form and is collected from the residues or waste material of processing and packing higher grades of saffron.