Govt to announce MSP of paddy & other crops by June 15

Government will announce by June 15 minimum support prices of 14 crops, including paddy, for the 2014-15 crop year (July-June), Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today.
On delayed arrival of southwest monsoon and possibility of drought in some areas, the minister said that the correct picture can be ascertained after the Met Department comes out with its update monsoon forecast next week.
"We will announce the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif (summer) crops for the 2014-15 crop year by June 15," Singh told reporters here.
Although the government is working on a new formula to fix MSP of agri-crops to guarantee 50 per cent profits to farmers, the support price of kharif crops to be announced would be determined based on the existing formula adopted by the government's statutory body CACP, he said.

MSP is normally announced during sowing time to help farmers plan their choice of crop to sow. Sowing of kharif crops such as paddy begins with the start of the southwest monsoon from June and harvesting starts from October.
On delayed monsoon, Singh said, "We will get the correct picture about monsoon situation after Met Department releases its forecast on June 9. Thereafter, we will formalise what further steps need to be taken."

Currently, the government is in touch with states to be ready with contingency plans, he added.
As per the official forecast, the country is expected to have below normal monsoon this year with rainfall projected to be 95 per cent because of the El Nino effect, which is generally associated with the warming of ocean water.

According to sources, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which recommends MSP of agri-crops to the Agriculture Ministry, has suggested a moderate hike in the MSP of paddy by Rs 50 to Rs 1360/quintal for 2014-15 and up to Rs 100/quintal raise in pulses MSP.
It has also proposed a Rs 50 per quintal increase in cotton MSP at Rs 3,750 for medium staple and Rs 4,050 for long staple for 2014-15 crop year.
CACP has proposed a marginal hike in maize MSP by Rs 30 at Rs 1530/quintal for hybrid variety and Rs 1550/quintal for maldandi variety for this year as its MSP was raised sharply two years back. Similarly, it has suggested a Rs 50 raise in ragi MSP at Rs 1550/quintal for 2014-15 from over last year.

However, it has recommended retaining the existing MSP of bajra and maize at Rs 1250/quintal and Rs 1310/quintal, respectively, for 2014-15 crop year.
It has also proposed keeping the MSP of groundnut and soyabean unchanged for this year at Rs 4,000/quintal and Rs 2,500-2,560/quintal, respectively.
For pulses, the CACP has recommended a Rs 50 hike in the support price of 'Tur' and 'Urad' at Rs 4350/quintal each for 2014-15. It has recommended a Rs 100 increase in MSP of 'Moong' at Rs 4600 per quintal for this year to keep inter-crop parity within kharif (summer) pulses.