SRINAGAR: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season to ensure remunerative returns to farmers.
The highest increase was announced for sunflower seed, whose MSP was raised by Rs 622 per quintal, followed by cotton at Rs 557, nigerseed at Rs 515 and sesamum at Rs 500 per quintal.
The MSP for common paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,441 per quintal, up by Rs 72 from the previous season, while Grade A paddy will fetch Rs 2,461 per quintal.
Among pulses, tur or arhar MSP was increased to Rs 8,450 per quintal, moong to Rs 8,780 and urad to Rs 8,200 per quintal.
For oilseeds, sunflower seed MSP was fixed at Rs 8,343 per quintal, soybean at Rs 5,708 and sesamum at Rs 10,346.
The government said the revised MSPs are in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 commitment of fixing support prices at least 1.5 times the weighted average cost of production.
Officials said expected returns over production cost are highest for moong at 61 per cent, followed by bajra and maize at 56 per cent each and tur at 54 per cent.
The Centre said it has increasingly promoted cultivation of pulses, oilseeds and nutri-cereals by offering comparatively higher MSPs for these crops.
According to official figures, procurement of 14 Kharif crops rose to 8,746 lakh metric tonnes during 2014-15 to 2025-26 compared to 4,679 lakh metric tonnes between 2004-05 and 2013-14.
The government also said MSP payments to farmers for Kharif crops increased substantially during the past decade, with paddy growers alone receiving Rs 16.08 lakh crore between 2014-15 and 2025-26.
