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COIMBATORE: With no scope of increasing sunflower prices in the next three months and low quality seeds due to pest attacks, the Tamil Nadu Agricltural University has advised farmers to immediately sell their crop.

Econometric analysis done on price data for nine years, collected from Vellakoil regulated market near here revealed that the price of sunflower seed for the next three months would be between Rs 20 to Rs 22 per kg, the Domestic and Export Market Intelli gence Cell in TNAU said in a study.

Since April-May sown sunflower crop started arriving at the market in Tamil Nadu, farmers were distressed as the price over the months was unable to meet their expectations,it said. The study showed that price of seeds from the oilyear (Nov-Oct) 2008-09 to July 2009 was in a declining phase and there was a yield reduction due to pest attack in flowering, obviously resulting in poor quality of materials.

Normal yield from one acre of sunflower is 1000-1200 kg per acre of irrigated area, but only around 700 kg this season. This would lead to 68 per cent lower arrivals of sown sunflower crop than last year in the Vellakoil market, it said.

Quoting trade sources, it said sunflower area declined by 20 per cent in North Karnataka region also. But the short supply would not impact price due to import of vegetable oils, one of the steps resorted to control inflation in March 2009.

The quantity of crude edible oils imported this oil year was 5.53 million tonnes in the last eight months and 5.61 million tonnes before the entire oil year 2008-08, it said. Sunflower seed price now hovers around minimum support price of Rs 2215 per qui ntal. - PTI

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