The billion dollar market Kashmir can't claim

<p>It takes 150 crocus flowers to make just one gram of saffron. For comparison, a spice like cumin, gets you hundreds of kilos per acre whereas saffron yields barely two.</p><p>Despite getting a prestigious GI tag from the Indian government and even a National Mission dedicated to its revival, Kashmir’s saffron production has plummeted:from 8 tonnes in 2011 to just 2.7 tonnes in 2024.</p><p>So what’s going wrong? And can India learn something from Iran, which currently dominates 90% of the global saffron market?</p><p>Reporters Mehroob Mushtaq and Numan Bhat, traveled deep into saffron country, met the farmers, walked the fields, and came back with a story that’s rich in detail, visuals, and hard truths.</p><p>Tune in.</p><p><em>*This episode was originally published on July 21st 2025.</em></p><p><strong>Compete in India’s first and only </strong><a href="https://the-ken.com/case-competition-2025/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=homepage&amp;utm_campaign=casebuildcompetition"><strong>case-build competition</strong></a><strong>.<br /></strong><br /></p><p><strong><em>Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. </em></strong><a href="https://the-ken.com/case-competition-2025/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=homepage&amp;utm_campaign=casebuildcompetition"><strong><em>Subscribe</em></strong></a><strong><em> for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.</em></strong></p>