Nafed mustard seed buying soars as prices fall

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) may have to mop up around one million tonnes of mustard seed this year under its price support operations in view of the fall in prices following the harvest.

Nafed has already purchased around one lakh tonnes of seed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

The procurement volume is very high for time for the year as mustard procurement in earlier years and in this part of the marketing season has always been much lower.

Nafed, along with state cooperative agencies, is monitoring arrival, prices and procurement of mustard seeds.

The ruling prices of mustard have already dropped in most areas to around Rs 1550 to Rs 1600 per quintal.

The government has fixed the minimum support price at Rs 1700 a quintal.

Prices may fall further as the arrival in markets of fresh produce is bound to pick up.

Nafed, the nodal agency for lending marketing support to mustard and other oilseeds, expects mustard seed production in the current rabi season at around 7.2 million tonnes, nearly half million tonnes more than last season's crop size.

This has put great pressure on prices.

Nafed managing director Alok Ranjan has written to agriculture secretary in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, directing them to ensure that mustard growers could access the benefits of the official procurement scheme.

Ranjan has asked the states to give publicity to the mustard procurement campaign to prevent distress sale by growers.