SRINAGAR: The two days workshop on “Market Sensitization to boost the export of Kashmir Saffron” concluded today at Agriculture Complex Lalmandi, here.
The workshop was organized by the Department of Agriculture Production and Farmer’s Welfare Kashmir and Spice Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Regional Office Srinagar.
The programme was aimed at devising the roadmap to boost the export of Kashmir saffron and another area of focus was to ensure the high quality standards of Kashmir saffron as well as identifying new dimensions in the domain.
Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal who was the chief guest of the program in his inaugural address impressed upon the stakeholders to put in all the efforts in making the GI Tagged Kashmir Saffron an international product with high quality standards and sustainable market with premium price.
He urged the exporters, farmers and young entrepreneurs to play a more effective, multidimensional and coordinated role so that the GI tagged Kashmir saffron could become a global brand.
The program was coordinated by Mohammad Qasim Gani Joint Director Agriculture Marketing Kashmir.
During the inaugural session, Ashutosh Gautam, Scientist & Officer Incharge, Spices Board, Srinagar briefed about the program and its relevance to the present scenario in saffron cultivation and marketing.
B.N. Jha, Director (Marketing), Spices Board India delivered the keynote address and discussed the historical importance of Pampore town with respect to Saffron and relevance in the UT and Indian economy.
He also highlighted the challenges at domestic and global platforms in the marketing and export of Saffron; and the role of the Spices Board and Saffron Production and Export Development Agency (SPEDA) in the upliftment of the saffron sector.
The technical session of the program saw the deliberations on guide on start of export business of spices and its procedure in international market, techniques and approaches of international market research, INCO terms, payment terms in international trade, GI Tag Kashmir Saffron and its importance, marketing and export promotion with saffron in focus, e-trading and role of IIKSTC, supply chain management and market dynamics, quality norms and standard for Indian spices with specific focus on saffron along with open discussion.
The program also witnessed a panel discussion where Director Agriculture Kashmir, Joint Director Agriculture Marketing Kashmir, Director Marketing, Spice Board of India, Consultant Spice Board, Assistant Professor, SKUAST, Sehreen Maqbool, APEADA, and Scientist & Officer Incharge, Spices Board were the panelists.
