Growers of major rabi crops — wheat, mustard, masur and barley — are getting more than the minimum support prices (MSPs) this year, even as mandi arrivals of most crops are higher during April 1-13 with the harvest of winter crops.

Only the farm-gate price of chana, the major rabi-grown pulse, is 9 per cent below the MSP of ₹5,230/quintal.

While average mandi prices are higher by 3-66 per cent from their respective MSPs so far this month, these are 6-67 pert cent more than year-ago levels for crops other than chana, according to mandi price data maintained by Agmarknet portal.

Russia-Ukraine war impact

Rabi crop prices are higher this year in view of the demand for the export of wheat, rice and maize as the Russian-Ukraine war has affected their supplies. The war has also affected imports of barley pushing up its domestic prices, while mustard prices have been boosted by sunflower oils imports being hit.

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Wheat nikala, gaddi leke

“Normally, prices fall when arrivals increase. But this year, barring barley, all other crops have recorded higher mandi arrivals, despite the fact that traders are buying freely outside mandis in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat,” said SB Goyal, a Delhi trader.

The pan-India arrivals of the mustard crop are 12 per cent higher. In Rajasthan, which has almost 50 per cent share in production and area, the supply of mustard is down by 25 per cent from a year ago. Nevertheless, mandi prices of the oilseed are 25 per cent above MSP in Rajasthan as well as pan-India.

“Last year, we heard that mustard farmers had received as high as ₹8,000/quintal. But we got only ₹6,400/quintal this year,” said Anupam Singh Rajawat, a farmer in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh who had shifted to the oilseed crop from green peas seeds on 15 acres. “Mustard is not as profitable as peas (seeds) at the current price,” he said.

Another farmer Naresh Singh, also from Jalaun, is waiting to sell his mustard when prices move up further as he is confident of getting higher rates. He is also a first-time grower of mustard and shifted from peas (seeds). “I can hold the crop until next January, but hope to see prices jump before October,” said Singh, waiting to harvest over 10 tonnes of mustard from eight hectares.

Last year, mustard prices started with ₹5,116/quintal in March (average for moth) in Rajasthan and moved to a high of ₹7,899/quintal in September and dropped to ₹7,123 in January 2022 before rising to ₹7,866 the next month. But this year the new crop started at ₹6,427 in March and dropped to ₹6,295 in April (1-13).

“There was a big jump in area under mustard as every one had expected to get high prices similar to last season. Thankfully, prices are at least above MSP. Otherwise, it would have been a big loss for us due to our shifting from matar,” Rajawat said.

Though wheat prices are above MSP of ₹2,015/quintal in all States, Gujarat farmers have been the major beneficiaries of the current surge led by record export contracts due to Russia-Ukraine war. However, the pan-India average mandi prices are now 2.8 per cent above MSP and 2.5 per cent more than the benchmark rate in M.P., which has so far recorded highest mandi arrivals among all States.

The highest increase in mandi prices among all rabi crops has been in barley at 67 per cent (₹2,713/quintal) pan-India from MSP during April 1-13 and at 73 per cent (₹2,824) in Rajasthan, the biggest producer.

During the farmers’ agitation, a major demand was for a legal guarantee of MSP. “If market rates remain higher than MSP over the next few years, this demand will hold no value even for the farmers,” said a member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee.

The rural economy will likely get a boost from the higher returns for farmers. It should also gladden the hearts of manufacturers of white goods, FMCG items, two-wheelers, four-wheelers and tractors, besides jewellery.

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