BKS welcomes suspension of castor seed futures trading

Hailing the commodity bourse NCDEX's decision to suspend futures trading of castor seed as a pro-farmer move, farmers' body Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) today suggested that the trading should not restart.
"The price today has fallen much below the cost of production for the farmer, which is around Rs 6,000 per quintal. Decline in price to the extent of 48 per cent since December 1 could have been averted if pre-emptive measures and prompt decision to suspend the contract was taken by the exchange," BKS said.
The farmers body, however, added that this would provide only short-term relief to farmers. "The decision to delist castor seed rather than mere suspension should have been taken two years earlier," it said.

"We demand that castor seed futures contract should not be restarted, otherwise the castor seed farmers will have no option but to take drastic step to switch to other crops," BKS said in a statement.
In fact, the Sangh has been persistently making the demand for delisting of castor seed since 2012 and has represented to the central government, NCDEX and CACP "in the interest of the farmers and the nation".
The organisation also demanded introduction of MSP.

Terming castor seed as liquid gold, BKS said India is a leading producer in the world with a monopoly.
The demand for castor oil and its products in the international market is on the rise, with expectations that it will firm up locally too.

The farmers of Gujarat and Rajasthan who produce the bulk of the Indian castor crop have not been getting their due prices for the last three years.