Sharp rise in Pulses support prices likely to follow

Govt is mulling with the idea of raising the MSP of pulses for the upcoming rabi season. Earlier, higher support prices for kharif pulses has resulted in a sharp jump in acreage under cultivation and production is estimated to rise to 6 million tonnes in the kharif season of the 2010-11 crop year. The Agriculture Ministry has proposed a Rs 20 hike in the MSP of wheat to Rs 1,120 a quintal, while the support price for pulses could be hiked by up to Rs 420 a quintal. In the pulses category, the MSP of masoor may increase to Rs 2,250 from Rs 1,830 per quintal, while that of gram could rise from Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,760 per quintal. MSP for mustard seeds would be raised marginally by Rs 20 to Rs 1,850 per quintal. The proposal to increase the MSP of rabi crops is likely to be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) hopefully by this week. The government aims to increase the pulses output by two million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year to 16.5 million tonnes. To achieve this, it had raised the MSP of kharif pulses significantly and now it plans to do the same for rabi pulses such as gram and masoor. Higher support prices for kharif pulses had resulted in a sharp jump in acreage under cultivation and production is estimated to rise to 6 million tonnes in the kharif season of the 2010-11 crop year from 4.3 million tonnes in the year-ago period. India, the largest producer of pulses, has to import 3-4 million tonnes every fiscal to meet domestic demand of 18-19 million tonnes.