By Rojalin Pani in Bhubaneswar, June 9, 2015 :

The prices of cotton, groundnut, maize and green gram are expected to rise above the minimum support price [MSP] level during the coming Khariff, according to Network Project on Market Intelligence at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology [OUAT].

Forecasting of the market price of the commodities in advance benefits the farmers so that they can plan the area to cover for variety of crops depending on the expected price and store for some time, and then sell the produce at higher market prices.

According to the forecast, the market price of cotton will remain in the range of Rs 3800-to Rs 4000 per
quintal against the last year MSP of Rs 3750, registering an average rise of Rs 150 per quintal in its price. Similarly, forecasted market price of groundnut shall remain in between Rs. 4100- to Rs. 4400- per quintal against the MSP of Rs. 4000, up by an average increase of Rs 250 per quintal.

The market price of maize is expected to go up from Rs. 1300 to Rs. 1400 per quintal against the last year MSP of Rs. 1310. The price of green gram shall be in the range of Rs. 5600-Rs 5700 per quintal against the MSP of Rd 4800- registering an increase of Rs 850 per quintal.

Besides, the market price of Turmeric shall remain constant at Rs. 5300 per quintal. However, the price of Turmeric may go up in the coming months.

With the prices of all the above mentioned commodities set to rise in two to three months, the farmers could reap the benefit if they can retain the commodities for 2-3 more months after harvest to sell these at higher prices in the market.

“The project intends to give prior market price information of commodities to the farmers in order plan the crop average and to take decision to sell the produce at highest market price. This is helping the farmers to earn higher income and prevents the distress sale of the produce”, says the Project Director Dr. R. K. Mishra who is also the associate professor of Agricultural Economics in OUAT.

Network Project on Market Intelligence is operating in the OUAT Bhubaneswar since 2013 along with 14 other places in the country. The project makes forecast prediction of market prices of commodities like cotton, groundnut, maize, green gram, turmeric, ginger during pre-sowing and pre harvest period.