Udupi Jasmine gets GI tag, yet little cheer

Udupi Jasmine (also known as Shankarapura Jasmine), which was accorded a Geographical Indication Tag in 2008, received the official stamp of approval from the central government recently.

The news has been received with a cheer from local farmers. Their cheer also stems out from the fact that Udupi Jasmine can now attract buyers from all over the world, especially Europe and the US. And if all goes well, it can even be listed on the international pricing mechanism, say the farmers.

“It is important that we reach out to the high-value buyers in first-world countries. We are now reaching out to the Gulf market with agents working in Mumbai, but the volume of exports has to improve further for us to truly call it commercial,” said Lucy Fernandes a grower and exporter in Shankarpura, Udupi taluk.

There are about 24,000 growers of Udupi Jasmine and they have organised themselves into an association. The GI tag has come as a boon, but without connectivity to high-value markets, it will not truly be an international crop. It has a potential of becoming a main commercial crop on the lines of Kodagu Oranges, Nanjangud Rasabale and Devanahalli Red Chakota (grapefruit), but markets remain an issue.

“We do not have direct connectivity to the first-world countries, though we have good demand from the supermarkets there. With an air cargo complex coming up in Mangalore we had a hope that Jasmine will be picked up by airline operators along with other export items including value added products from the fishery, cashew, coffee and beedi industries, but our hearts sank when we learnt there was only one flight a fortnight,” said exporter Andrew Lobo.

The association was now wooing export agents to lift their produce on the Mangalore-Bangalore-London-New York route via Bangalore International Airport (BIA) while keeping the Mangalore-Mumbai-Dubai-London route active. The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) at Mangalore was also keen on promoting it as a major exportable commodity from the coastal region.
Growers are however facing an uncertain future due to two reasons — firstly the Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) which is a mega thermal power project, spewing out fly ash over Jasmine gardens during the summer and secondly the monsoons, where there is always a decrease in sales because of the lack of religious or social functions. “Monsoon is the time when farmers would like to send the produce abroad more regularly and that has to be facilitated,” said Ramakrishna Sharma Bantakal, president of the Association.