Most agricultural commodity prices well below minimum support price

The central govt is believed to be in an advanced stage of announcing a 'Bhavantar' (price differential) scheme, to directly pay growers the difference between the current price and MSP

Most agricultural commodities are trading below the central government-set minimum support price (MSP), and for quite a while.

The average price of maize, for example, was Rs 887 a quintal during August at the Santhesargur (Karnataka) wholesale centre (mandi), around 38 per cent lower than its MSP of Rs 1,425 a quintal. Black gram (urad) at the Alirajpur (Madhya Pradesh) mandi was quoted at Rs 2,827 a quintal in August, on average; the MSP is Rs 5,400 a quintal.

This situation is set to continue, with a bumper harvest estimated for the ongoing kharif season; harvesting is to commence in