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Informist, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices has urged the government to ban the import of yellow peas and link the minimum support prices of oilseeds to the oil content to boost production. The commission, which recommends MSP for crops, highlighted non-price-centric recommendations for long-term productivity and sustainability in agriculture.

 

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved a 4-10% hike in the MSP of six rabi crops, as recommended by the commission, for the marketing season starting April. The MSP hike will cost the government an additional INR 842.63 billion.

 

Production of pulses has stagnated in recent years, mainly due to "technology fatigue", resulting in declining acreage and yield, the commission said in a recent report on price policy for rabi crops in the 2026-27 marketing season. Apart from developing high-yielding climate-resilient seed varieties for pulses, the government should "restrict cheap imports of gram and lentil through higher tariffs" and impose a "complete ban on imports of yellow peas," the commission recommended.

 

In May, the government had extended duty-free import of yellow peas till March 31, 2026, to ensure sufficient domestic availability and check prices. Yellow peas are extensively used as a substitute for other pulses such as tur and chana.

 

On oilseeds, the panel recommended linking the MSP of rapeseed, mustard, and safflower to oil content. It proposed offering a premium for every 0.25% point increase in oil content over the base level. This, it said, would incentivise farmers to improve oil yield and raise profitability.

 

To reduce edible oil import dependency, the commission recommended promoting safflower cultivation in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh under the National Mission on Edible Oils. It also suggested developing high-yielding, high-oil-content hybrid varieties through both conventional and biotechnological approaches.

 

In May, the government reduced the basic customs duty on imported crude palm oil, crude soybean oil, and crude sunflower oil by 10% from 20%, and kept the import duty on refined cooking oil unchanged at 32.5%. This was mainly done to help domestic refineries, as increasing the duty differential between crude and refined edible oils cuts import of refined cooking oil. India meets more than 70% of its vegetable oil demand through imports, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.

 

On import duties, the commission suggested a "dynamic duty structure" linked to international prices. "In case of sudden fall in global prices, trigger points can be identified for quick action to raise import duties," the report said.

 

The commission also recommended phasing out the existing fertiliser subsidy structure, which encourages excessive urea use. It called for rationalising high market fees and taxes on crop procurement that deter private participation.

 

To make procurement under the Price Support Scheme more effective, the commission urged states to ensure timely farmer registration, transparent scheduling of purchase operations, and adequate warehousing and payment systems.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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