Gujarat to begin groundnut procurement from November 1

Amid bumper crop estimates for groundnut, the Gujarat government will begin the procurement of groundnut crop from Labh Panchami (the fifth day after Diwali) or November 1.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced that the government will not let farmers suffer due to falling prices of oilseed as a result of the bumper crop.

“We will begin procurement of groundnut at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) from Labh Panchami (or November 1),” Rupani said while addressing an election rally in North Gujarat.

Per the latest government estimates, the groundnut output in the State is estimated at 32 lakh tonnes — nearly double that of last year.

Market prices have already slipped to ₹4,000 and traded in the range of ₹4,000-4,100 a quintal in Gujarat.

The Centre has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for the kharif procurement at ₹5,090 a quintal as against ₹4,890 a quintal last year.

So far, about 4.44 lakh farmers have registered to participate in the procurement process, which will end on January 30, 2020. The State civil supplies corporation will conduct procurement operations from 122 procurement centres across the State.

Per the initial estimates by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), the groundnut crop in Gujarat will be more than double than what was seen last year, primarily on a good monsoon this year.

The groundnut crop in the State is estimated to be about 32.15 lakh tonnes for 2019-20, up by 101 per cent from 15.95 lakh tonnes reported last year.

Last year the State government had paid a bonus of ₹110 a quintal on an MSP of ₹4,890 a quintal announced by the Centre. Per the Nafed data, the State government had procured about 447,000 tonnes of groundnut from the farmers in Gujarat.

The State government will also open new procurement centres to make it transparent and hassle-free for farmers during the procurement process.