India raises procurement prices for staple crops

The Government of India from June 20 increased state procurement prices for a number of crops such as rice, soybeans and cotton. This was announced by the Minister of Information of India Ashwini Vaishnau.

The country annually announces support prices at which it will make purchases from farmers. As noted, the next increase is due to the rising cost of production, as well as the need to stimulate local farmers to increase productivity.

Specifically, the purchase price of soybean has been increased by 6.4%, from Rs. 4,600 to Rs. 4,892 ($59) per 100 kg, the price of corn has been increased by 6.5%, from Rs. 2,090 to Rs. 2,225 ($27), rice by 5.4%, from Rs. 2,183 to Rs. 2,300, and cotton by 7.6%, from Rs. 6,620 to Rs. 7,121 per 100 kg.

The Indian government increases the purchase prices of staple foods every year to build up stocks for the world’s largest food support program for the population, which provides free 5 kg of grain every month to about 800 million people.

President of the Rice Exporters Association of India, B.V. Krishna Rao, in this regard, noted a possible increase in the cost of Indian rice for overseas buyers. To mitigate this impact, Rao suggested reducing the export duty from 20% to 15%.

Tags: soybean, India, corn, rice