The government today hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 20 and chana (gram) by Rs 30 per quintal as sowing for the Rabi season has begun.
It also raised the MSP for some other Rabi crops like barley and safflower.
The decision to hike the MSP was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The MSP of wheat has been fixed at Rs 1,100 per quintal, marking an increase of Rs 20 per quintal over the last year’s MSP," Home Minister P Chidambaram said after the meeting.
He added the government has accepted the report of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for the winter crop.
Last year, the government had increased the wheat MSP by Rs 80 per quintal, which led to a record production of 80.58 million tonnes.
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During 2009-10 season, the government targets to produce 82 million tonnes of wheat.
The CCEA also raised the MSP of chana to Rs 1,760 per quintal, up by Rs 30, over last year's support price.
Similarly, the MSP of safflower has also been raised by Rs 30 to Rs 1,680 per quintal and of barley by Rs 70 to Rs 750 per quintal.
But it decided not to tinker with the MSP of mustard and Masur, which is kept unchanged at Rs 1,830 per quintal and Rs 1,870 per quintal respectively.