Following a bumper groundnut crop projection after a record sowing of the oilseeds for kharif 2020-21, the Gujarat government on Wednesday announced to conduct MSP operations for groundnut procurement starting November 19.

Jayesh Radadiya, Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, Government of Gujarat, announced the decision taken at the State Cabinet meeting today.

Radadiya also stated that while the announcement is being made now, the procurement will begin after Diwali on November 19 on the auspicious day of ‘Labh Panchami.’

The dates for registrations of farmers will be announced soon.

Arrivals have started in the markets with prices in the range of ₹3,330-5,030 per quintal at Gondal APMC on Wednesday, much less than the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹5,275 fixed by the Centre for the Kharif 2020 season.

Output estimates

The Gujarat government’s first advance estimate has projected an all-time high groundnut crop at 54.65 lakh tonnes for Kharif 2020. The expected yield for the current year is expected to be lower at 2,637 kg/ha, as against 2,764 kg/ha last year.

The State is the largest producer of the oilseed in the country.

Last year in 2019-20, the fourth advance estimate had projected India’s kharif groundnut crop at 83.67 lakh tonnes, of which more than 50 per cent or about 45 lakh tonnes was Gujarat’s contribution.

Farmers have also expressed concerns on the damages to the groundnut crop due to heavy flooding following monsoon rains over the past one month. The State government has announced compensation for the losses exceeding 33 per cent for the flood-hit farmers.

Procurement operations

The State Civil Supplies Department has been appointed as the nodal agency to conduct the procurement operations. The minister has not clarified on the quantity to be procured from the farmers. Usually, the mandate for the procurement agencies is for the quantities up to 25 per cent of the total crop.

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