Prices of 8 crops rule below MSP in agri-terminal markets

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Soyabean, groundnut and sunflower are among 8 of the 14 kharif crops whose average mandi (agri-terminal markets or Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee yards) prices are ruling below the minimum support price (MSP) in the current harvesting season that began on October 1. This comes even as farmer leaders wonder where the procurement mechanism is despite the Centre’s announcement.

According to the Agmarknet portal, an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the average mandi (agriculture market yard) prices of niger, urad, bajra, soyabean, groundnut, moong, ragi and sunflower were 8-25 per cent lower from their respective MSP during first three days of this month. Earlier this week, businessline reported how urad crops were sold below MSP due to high level of moisture and damage following heavy rains in September.

On the other hand, paddy and cotton were almost at par (+0.5 per cent from MSP), whereas mandi prices were recorded above MSP in maize (by 2 per cent), jowar (4.8 per cent), tur (33.5 per cent) and sesame (40 per cent) this month.

Rampal Jat, president of Kisan Mahapanchayat, said farmers are being forced to sell their produce at throw-away prices due to the government not starting the MSP-based procurement. In a short span of seven days in the last week of September, farmers in Rajasthan had to bear a loss of over ₹1.5 crore which they could have earned had there been procurement.

Rajasthan’s millet output share

He claimed that farmers had to sell 50,800 quintals of millet at ₹2,200-2,400 per quintal in Bagru, Chomu, Shrimadhopur, Kekri, Dausa, Lalsot, Mundawar, Mandawari, Bayana and Deeg mandis of the State, whereas the MSP of bajra has been fixed at ₹2,625 per quintal for 2024-25.

Though millet is produced in other States like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan alone had a share of over 45 per cent in India’s total production of 9.7 million tonnes (mt) in 2023-24.

Official data show that all India average price was ₹8,000/quintal in case of niger (8.2 per cent below MSP), ₹6,780 for urad (-8.4 per cent), ₹2,389 for bajra (-9 per cent), ₹7,041 for moong (-18.9 per cent) and ₹3,439 for ragi (-19.8 per cent) during October 1-3. In case of oilseeds, soyabean was ₹4,268/quintal (-12.8 per cent), groundnut was ₹5,817/quintal (-14.2 per cent) and sunflower ₹5,496/quintal (-24.5 per cent) this month.

Import duty hike impact

On September 12, the all India average mandi price of soyabean was ₹4,521/quintal, groundnut was ₹5,885/quintal and sunflower ₹4,874/quintal. “The import duty hike was timely and it has helped a lot, otherwise the price drop would have been more,” said D N Pathak, Executive Director of the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA).

The government on September 13 increased the duty on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil to 20 per cent from ‘nil’ and the levy on refined palm, soyabean and sunflower oils to 32.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent. After the revision, the imported crude oils will be levied at 27.5 per cent (including cess) and refined varieties at 35.75 per cent (including cess).

The price drop in soyabean is due to expectations of a big crop as fresh arrivals have started, Pathak said. Besides, there is a low chance of export of soyabean de-oiled cake after the turmoil in the Middle East caused uncertainties for export to Iran, which is a big market for India, he said.

Meanwhile, Nafed, the nodal Central agency for procurement of oilseeds and pulses under MSP operation, has purchased 4,629 tonnes of moong and 107 tonnes of sunflower in Karnataka, data show on its portal. The Centre has already allowed Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to start procurement operation of soyabean.