Govt begins mustard purchase under prices support scheme

Prices ruling below MSP due to record edible oil imports bumper output

- SANDIP DAS

AMIDST THE FALL in mustard's mandi rates below the minimum support price (MSP) due to bumper output and cheaper imports of edible oils, the government has initiated purchase of oilseeds from the farmers under prices support scheme (PSS).

Agriculture ministry officials said that over the next three months, the target is to purchase ₹2.82 million tonne (MT) of mustard from the farmers under MSP operations in the key oilseed producing states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Assam.

The two agencies farmers' cooperative Nafed and National CooperFederation ative Consumers (NCCF), in collaboration with state agencies, have purchased 72,000 tonne of mustard in the last few days in these states.

"Procurement would pick up pace in the next couple of weeks," an official told FE.