CM writes to PM on steep crash in maize prices

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging the issue of steep crash in maize and green gram prices in Karnataka, stating that this has caused deep distress among farmers.

Mr. Siddaramaiah has urged Mr. Modi to direct NAFED, FCI and NCCF to begin Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement immediately under the Price Support Scheme or another suitable mechanism to address the distress of farmers.

“Prices have fallen far below the MSP declared by the Government of India, creating widespread distress among cultivators,” he said in his communication.

The Chief Minister pointed out that while the Centre fixed MSP at ₹2,400 per tonne for maize and ₹ 28,768 per tonne for green gram, the prevailing prices in Karnataka had dropped to ₹1,600 to ₹ 1,800 per tonne for maize and around ₹ 5,400 per tonne for green gram.

Even the modal prices of the last three years were higher than MSP, but external pressures and supply-demand distortions had pushed prices to record lows, the Chief Minister said.

Karnataka had a marketable surplus of 32 lakh tonnes of maize, far exceeding the absorptive capacity of local industries, Mr. Siddaramaiah pointed out.