Rs. 1,000 MSP for paddy recommended
Political parties have been demanding parity with wheat for kharif season NEW DELHI: The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices has recommended that the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy be fixed at Rs. 1,000 a quintal for the common variety and at Rs. 1,050 a quintal for the A grade variety for the 2008-09 kharif marketing season. Several political parties have been demanding that the support price for paddy be raised to Rs. 1,000 a quintal to bring it on a par with wheat. The support price for wheat this rabi is Rs. 1,000 a quintal as against Rs. 850 a quintal last year. The MSP for paddy at present is Rs. 745 a quintal for the common variety and Rs. 775 a quintal for the A grade. This included a bonus of Rs. 100 a quintal announced by the Central government after several political parties exerted pressure to raise it. The Commission said the estimated costs of paddy production put out by State governments were "much higher' than those estimated under the Comprehensive Scheme of the Directorate of Economic and Statistics. It, however, warned of an overall increase in the price of essential commodities in 2008-09 due to the "tight supply position.' The CACP suggested that the MSP for jowar be fixed at Rs. 840 (hybrid) and Rs. 840 (maldandi). For maize and and bajra, it recommended a support price of Rs. 840. It said the MSP for tur (arhar) could be Rs. 2,000, moong Rs. 2,520 and urad Rs. 3,520. The MSP it recommended for groundnut was Rs. 2,100, soyabean (black) Rs. 1,350 and soyabean (yellow) Rs. 1,390. The MSP for sunflower should be Rs. 2,215, nigerseed Rs. 2,405 and sesamum Rs. 2,750, it said. It recommended that the support price for cotton be Rs. 2,500 for a staple length of 24.5-25.5 mm and Rs. 3,000 for a staple length of 29.5-30.5 mm. In its recommendation to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Commission said it had taken into account the cost of inputs for all crops based on consultations with all stakeholders including State governments, scientists, farmers, millers and traders. The Ministry will take a view on the Commission's recommendations before placing them in the Union Cabinet for approval.