The Ministerial Committee for Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given approval to the MSP for copra for the 2020 season.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said India is the number one producer and productivity of copra in the world. Copra production is around 15 million tonnes. It is cultivated by 30 lakh farmers on an area of 20 hectares.
The MSP for the fair average quality (FAQ) of the crushed copra has been increased to Rs 9,960 per quintal for the 2020 season from Rs 9,521 per quintal in 2019. The MSP for the ball copra has been increased to Rs 10,300 per quintal for the 2020 season of Rs 9,920 per hundredweight in 2019.
This will result in an advantage of Rs 439 / – per quintal in milling copra and Rs 380 / – for the increase in ball copra.
“This is to ensure a yield of 50% for the crushed copra and 55% for the ball copra compared to the weighted average cost of production for all of India,” said a press release.
The approval is based on the recommendations of the Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission (CACP).
The increase in the MSP for copra is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the weighted average cost of production for the whole of India.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will continue to act as central nodal agencies to undertake price support operations for MSP in producer states of coconut.
“Last year, when prices fell in Tamil Nadu, the timely intervention of the Indian government via the purchase from the MSP, this pushed market sentiment upward for the benefit of copra producers,” the statement said. .
