Mandi prices of major kharif crops show little improvement between Sept-Oct

Prices of soybean, moong, and groundnut remained below MSPs in late October despite some recovery, prompting government action through import curbs and procurement plans

Mandi prices of major kharif crops that were ruling below their respective minimum support prices (MSPs) in late September maintained the trend in late October as well, official data shows.

 

Though there was some improvement in prices between the two months, they remained below their respective MSPs, according to the data.

 

Which crops are selling below their MSPs?

 

As of October 24, ragi led the fall with mandi prices nearly 35 per cent below its MSP, followed by sunflower, moong, and groundnut. Soybean was selling around 21 per cent lower than its MSP of Rs 5,328 per quintal, while moong traded about 24 per cent below its MSP of Rs 8,768 per quintal.

 

This persistent gap between market prices and MSPs could have serious implications for farmers’ earnings as the kharif harvest has picked up pace since late October.

 

How much of the kharif harvest has been completed?

 

Official data showed that as on October 24, around 27 per cent of the total kharif area had been harvested across India. Of this, about 48 per cent of the pulses area—mainly uradbean (56 per cent), moongbean (91 per cent), and mothbean (100 per cent)—was harvested.

 

Among oilseeds, 20.47 per cent of the total area had been harvested, primarily groundnut (28.87 per cent) and sesamum (49.43 per cent). For coarse cereals, 41.7 per cent of the area had been harvested, led by jowar (50.74 per cent) and bajra (59.05 per cent). Around 15 per cent of the rice area had also been harvested for kharif 2025-26 crops.

 

This harvesting activity is expected to have gathered further pace since then.

 

What policy measures has the Centre taken to support prices?

 

On October 31, 2025, the Centre imposed a 30 per cent import duty on yellow peas, effective from November 1, to stem the fall in domestic pulses prices. Days earlier, it had announced a Rs 15,095.83-crore procurement plan for pulses and oilseeds.

 

The plan, to be implemented in Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh for kharif 2025-26, also includes approval for launching the Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana for soybeans in Madhya Pradesh.

 

These steps, aimed at supporting farm incomes and stabilising mandi prices, are expected to start showing results in the weeks ahead. 

All India mandi wholesale prices (in Rs/Quintal)
Crops	MSP*	Prices**	Prices***	% Variation Over MSP#	% Variation Over MSP##
Rice (unmilled)$	2369	2319	2343	-2.1	-1.1
Wheat	2585	NA	2539	0.0	-1.8
Maize	2400	NA	2053	0.0	-14.5
Arhar Whole	8000	6370	7470	-20.4	-6.6
Moong Whole	8768	6721	6693	-23.3	-23.7
Urad	7800	5828	6870	-25.3	-11.9
Jowar	3699	NA	3047	0.0	-17.6
Bajra	2775	NA	2160	0.0	-22.2
Ragi	4886	NA	3192	0.0	-34.7
Groundnut	7263	5477	5493	-24.6	-24.4
Soybean	5328	3966	4209	-25.6	-21.0
Sesamum	9846	9648	9070	-2.0	-7.9
Sunflower	7721	6162	5620	-20.2	-27.2
$ Rice is common paddy
*MSP is for 2025-26 kharif season
**As On September 26, 2025
***As On October 24, 2025
# Variation Over Prices as On September 26, 2025
##Variation Over Prices as On October 24, 2025
Source: Ministry of Agriculture