MSP hike in Kharif crops may dent India's farm exports in long term

Long term potential holds good on sustained focus on supply improvement

The start might be phenomenal, but India may gradually lose out its competitiveness in terms of export of agricultural commodities, owing to a sharp spike in the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops.

To appease farmers ahead of 2019 parliamentary elections the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last week raised MSP by 4-53 per cent across all agri-commodities for kharif in 2018. The hike, however, has made the commodities uncompetitive in the global market. 

Surprisingly, Indian exporters had increased their shipment over the last few months. While MSP hike would improve farmers' income level,