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Prices of oilseeds raised
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 30
The government today announced an increase of Rs 35-55 per quintal in kharif MSPs (minimum support price) for oilseeds.

Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh informed Parliament that with the addition last year of the Special Drought Relief (SDR) at the rate of Rs 20, Rs 15, Rs 10 and Rs 5 for groundnut, sunflower, soyabean and sesamum, respectively, the actual increase in the MSP would work out to be Rs 25-40 per quintal.

However, as an SDR of Rs 20 per quintal was provided last year, the actual MSP for paddy will remain the same as in 2002-03.

“It is expected that the increase in the MSPs of kharif crops will encourage the farmers to go for diversification of crops”, the minister said.

The MSP for paddy has also been increased by Rs 20 per quintal to Rs 550 and Rs 580 per quintal for common and grade ‘A’ categories.

The MSP for groundnut has been fixed at Rs 1,400 per quintal, an increase of Rs 45. Corresponding rates for soyabean (yellow and black) have been fixed at Rs 930 and Rs 840 per quintal, respectively, again an increase of Rs 45 per quintal each.

The MSP for sunflower seed has been raised to Rs 1,250 per quintal from Rs 1,195. The MSPs for sesamum and nigerseed have been fixed at Rs 1,485 and 1,455 per quintal, respectively, an increase of Rs 35 quintal.

The cotton MSP has been hiked by Rs 50 to Rs 1,725 and Rs 1,925 per quintal for the two different varieties. As part of the government’s initiatives for crop diversification, the MSPs of jowar, bajra, maize and ragi have also been raised by Rs 20 a quintal and fixed at Rs 505 per quintal against Rs 485 for the previous year.

The MSP of arhar (tur) has been raised to Rs 1,360 per quintal as against Rs 1,320 for the previous year. Similarly, MSPs for moong and urad have also been raised by Rs 40 per quintal.

While during 1992-97, the rate of growth in the MSP for rice and wheat was 8.6 and 7.6 per cent, respectively, the corresponding hike during 1998-2003 was lower at 4.6 and 5.1 per cent, respectively.

However, in the case of gram, the rate of increase in the MSP during 1998-2003 was much higher at 10.3 per cent, compared to 8.1 per cent during 1992-97.

In the case of mustard, the rate of MSP growth during 1992-97 was 6.1 per cent, which increased to 8.7 per cent during 1998-2003.

During 1992-1997, the prices of rice and wheat in the market increased by 8.3 and 10.1 per cent, respectively, while the corresponding increase in pulses and edible oils was 16 and 3.6 per cent, respectively. During 1998-2003, wheat and rice prices rose by 2.4 and 2.9 per cent ,while that of pulses by 3.8 per cent. Edible oil prices fell by 0.9 per cent.