The Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has urged the government not to allow the sale of soyabeans purchased under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) before July as it would further dampen the prices that are already ruling below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) levels and may impact the kharif sowing prospects.
As per NAFED’s latest procurement data, over 14.71 lakh tonnes of soyabean has been purchased at an MSP of ₹4,892 for the kharif marketing season 2024-25. Over half of this was procured from Maharashtra(over 8.36 lakh tonnes), while over 3.8 lakh tonnes was purchased from Madhya Pradesh. As per the first advance estimates released in November, the government is expecting the soyabean crop for 2024-25 at 133.60 lakh tonnes, up from previous year’s 130.62 lakh tonnes.
SOPA Chairman Davish Jain, in a letter to the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh, said the move to sell soyabean was ill-timed and would result in further fall in prices and discourage farmers from sowing soyabean in the forthcoming kharif season.
Ill-timed move
“We understand that NAFED, one of the agencies which has procured soybean from farmers at MSP under the PSS is going to sell the soybean in the open market starting March 3. The current mandi price of soybean is ranging between ₹3,900 to ₹4,100 per quintal which is much below the MSP of ₹4,892 and the move to the sell soybean now is ill-timed as it will result in further fall in soybean prices. Soybean sowing starts in the third week of June and continues till July 15 and any further fall in the prices will definitely discourage the farmers from sowing soybean,” Jain said in the letter.
In fact, interaction with a large number of farmers in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has clearly indicated that they are disappointed with the low return on soybean cultivation and will move to more remunerative crops in the coming season, he added.
Self-sufficiency target hurt
“The sale of soybean at this time will also be contrary to the self-sufficiency target of the government. As we have seen in the context of pulses, good prices are the single biggest factor for the farmers deciding to grow more pulses and increase productivity. Same will be the case with oilseeds and we must ensure remunerative prices to the farmers,” Jain said.
He also requested the minister to issue necessary instructions so that soybean stocks held by NAFED and NCCF may be sold in open market only after July 15, when sowing is over.