'Higher prices on oilseeds nothing to do with govt's policies'

Prices have increased only because the supply is less and demand is high and hence, prices of oilseed crops have increased. Crop production is also less than expected. It has nothing to do with agricultural laws, says Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh, president and agriculture expert of Kisan Shakti Sangh.

New Delhi: Last month, farmers got higher prices than MSP on oilseed corps in some states. There were reports that traders were buying oilseeds from farmers by paying an average of Rs 1000 to 1500 more than the MSP. The farmers neither had to resort to government procurement nor they had to reach the mandis to sell oilseed crops like soybean, mustard, sunflower, etc.

Some farmers supporting the government's agricultural laws have cited government policies responsible for such high prices of oilseed crop procurement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also mentioned in his address that farmers are getting better prices than the MSP on oilseeds.

However, Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh, president and agriculture expert of Kisan Shakti Sangh, said that in the last year, the prices of mustard, groundnut, soybean, palm oil etc. have increased significantly. The main reason behind this is the low production of edible oils in the country. The production of edible oils in the country is between 75 to 80 lakh tonnes, while the consumption is around 2.25 to 2.5 crore tonnes. Therefore, we have to import 130 to 150 lakh tonnes every year.

He added that due to the Covid-19 epidemic, there was a lockdown in the country, but when the corona epidemic was controlled, the demand for edible oils increased. Prices have also increased due to a surge in demand.

Some countries like China have also prepared a strategic reserve, keeping in mind another wave of Covid-19. This storage of oilseeds has also led to an increase in the prices of edible oils. Another major reason is that in the countries where these oils are produced, the production has suffered due to lack of labour or drought conditions. All these reasons have contributed to increasing edible oil prices. Therefore, when the oilseeds crop arrived in the market, due to the high demand for edible oils, traders paid higher prices to the farmers.

Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh has added that there is no effect of any government policy in this case. In such a situation, if the supporters of the agricultural laws of the government or if the government itself wants to take credit, citing their agricultural laws as the main reason, then there is no truth in it. Prices have increased only because the supply is less and demand is high and hence, prices of oilseed crops have increased. Crop production is also less than expected. It has nothing to do with agricultural laws.