Moderate hike in wheat MSP likely; pulses to get more support

The support price for wheat is likely to be hiked by a nominal Rs 20 in the rabi season, but the procurement rate for pulses could go up sharply, as the government wants to reduce dependence on imports for this commodity.

According to official sources, the Agriculture Ministry has proposed a Rs 20 hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat to Rs 1,120 a quintal, while the MSP for pulses could be hiked by up to Rs 420 a quintal.

In the pulses category, the MSP of masoor may increase to Rs 2,250 from Rs 1,830 per quintal, while that of gram could rise from Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,760 per quintal. MSP for mustard seeds would be raised marginally by Rs 20 to Rs 1,850 per quintal.

The proposal to increase the MSP of rabi crops is likely to be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) this week, sources said.
    
The government aims to increase the pulses output by two million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year to 16.5 million tonnes. To achieve this, it had raised the MSP of kharif pulses significantly and now it plans to do the same for rabi pulses such as gram and masoor.
    
Higher support prices for kharif pulses had resulted in a sharp jump in acreage under cultivation and production is estimated to rise to 6 million tonnes in the kharif season of the 2010-11 crop year from 4.3 million tonnes in the year-ago period.
    
India, the largest producer of pulses, has to import 3-4 million tonnes every fiscal to meet domestic demand of 18-19 million tonnes.
    
In the case of wheat, the ministry plans to give only a slight hike to the MSP, keeping in mind that food inflation is hovering above 16 per cent, sources said.
    
In addition, unlike pulses, India is self-sufficient in wheat production and harvested record crop of 80.71 million tonnes in 2009-10, beating the previous year's record, they added.
    
The proposed hike in MSP is based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
    
The sowing of rabi crops like wheat commenced this month and will continue till December. These crops will be harvested from April, 2011.