New Delhi, Dec 28 Seeking to provide relief to coconut growers, the government on Friday announced a steep hike in minimum support price of copra by up to Rs 2,170 per quintal to Rs 9,521-9,920 for 2018-19 season.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held Thursday.

The MSP (minimum support price) of ball copra has been increased by Rs 2,170 per quintal to Rs 9,920 per quintal for the 2018-19 season from Rs 7,750 per quintal in the last year, an official statement said.

The support price of milling copra has been raised by Rs 2,010 per quintal to Rs 9,521 per quintal for the current year from Rs 7,511 per quintal in the last year.

The approval is based on recommendations of the government’s price advisory body Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

CACP recommends the hike, taking into account the cost of production, trends in the domestic and international prices of edible oils, overall demand and supply of copra and coconut oil, cost of processing of copra into coconut oil and the likely impact of the hike in MSPs on consumers.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India (NCCF) will continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations for the MSP in the coconut growing states.

India’s annual coconut production is about 2,395 crore from 20.82 lakh hectare and the productivity is 11,505 coconuts per hectare, as per the official data.

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