Centre approves procurement of moong, sunflower seeds at MSP in Karnataka

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Procurement of kharif crops such as green gram and sunflower seeds under the price support scheme is set to start in Karnataka with the Centre approving the purchase of the pulses and oilseeds variety.

The Agriculture Ministry gave the approval on August 22 to implement the price support scheme (PSS) for the procurement of a maximum of 22,215 tonnes of green gram from Karnataka for the kharif 2024-25 season. The Centre had declared a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹8,682 per quintal for the kharif 2024-25 season. The Centre has also approved the purchase of 13,210 tonnes of sunflower seeds at an MSP of ₹7,280 per quintal.

Over the past couple of weeks, moong prices in North Karnataka, the key growing region, have been ruling below the MSP levels with the new crop hitting the markets, triggering concerns among the growers. About a week ago, the modal price across various mandis was ruling in the range of ₹5,900-6,600 per quintal, below the MSP levels.

Earliest kharif crop

Following the announcement of procurement, moong prices have seen a marginal improvement. On Monday, the modal price at Gadag APMC market yard, the largest market in the region for green gram, moved up to ₹7,132 per quintal on Monday compared with ₹6,293 on August 23 and ₹6,617 on August 20. The average daily arrivals of moong in Gadag ranged from 1,000 to 1,500 tonnes.

Moong is a sixty-day crop cycle and is the earliest to be harvested among the kharif crops. As per Agriculture Ministry data, moong has been planted on about 33.24 lakh hectares (lh) this kharif season across the country as of August 16 against 30.26 lh.

Rajasthan is the major producer of moong followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra during the kharif cropping season. In Rajasthan, the moong acreage stood at 22.05 lh this kharif as of August 16 over20.53 lh a year ago. In Karnataka, the moong acreage has more than doubled to 4.35 lh over 1.73 lh a year ago. Last year, the moong growing regions in Karnataka witnessed drought conditions, which impacted the sowing. In Maharasthra also, the acreage witnessed an increase this year at 2.3 lh over 1.73 lh a year ago.