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Informist, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025

By Anjali Lavania

MUMBAI – Prices of soybean rose slightly in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Monday while those of groundnut were stable in Gondal, Gujarat, traders said. Mustard seed prices were unavailable in Rajasthan as most of the mandis were closed Monday, they said. 

Prices of MUSTARD seed in Jaipur and Kota in Rajasthan were unavailable as markets in the state were shut because of the protests that started Sunday for removal of the Krishi Kalyan cess on most oilseeds, said Mahesh Sameriya, a trader from the state.

"Protestors are demanding removal of mandi cess as well as Krishi Kalyan cess on oilseeds," said a trader from the Marudhar Trading Agency who asked not to be named. Traders want the cess on arrivals of oilseeds from other states, including on the three major ones--mustard seed, soybean, and groundnut--to be removed, he said. The protests will probably end Wednesday, the trader added.

In 2016, then Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had introduced the Krishi Kalyan cess on most agricultural products and services. The tax came into force on Jun. 1, 2016, and its purpose was to finance and promote initiatives to improve agriculture, said Sameriya. However, after the introduction of Goods and Services Tax on Jul. 1, 2017, the Krishi Kalyan cess was abolished in most states. Rajasthan was one of the exceptions. As a result, Sameriya said, mills in the state are losing business to Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where the tax either does not exist or is very low.

SOYBEAN prices were up INR 150 at INR 3,950-INR 4,250 per 100 kg in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Sandeep Sarda, a local trader, said, adding that arrivals were down by 200 bags to 3,200 bags (1 bag = 90 kg). "Soybean prices were supported by recent procurement but in the long term a fall in prices is expected due to the poor performance of Indian soymeal in the global as well as domestic markets," Sarda said.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India procured 1.47 million tonnes of soybean, or 43.5% of the total sanctioned quantity of 3.38 million tonnes, as of Feb. 23, according to data released Monday by the central procurement agency.

India's oilmeal exports in January fell 5% on year to 452,352 tonnes, according to data released by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India.

GROUNDNUT prices at Gondal in Gujarat were unchanged from Friday in the range of INR 5,100-INR 6,500 per 100 kg, said Ashok Virvani, a local trader. "Good quality groundnuts are all procured by the government, which ended almost 10 days ago," he said. Farmers preferred to sell to the government as they were not getting enough profit from local mandis, Virvani said. Groundnut prices in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh are at INR 4,000-INR 4,500 per 100 kg, and these are being bought by millers in Gujarat, exerting further pressure on groundnut prices in Gujarat, he added. In the long term, prices of the oilseed are expected to fall due to bumper crop estimates this year.

End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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