The Union Cabinet approved a hike in the minimum support prices (MSPs) of six rabi crops for the 2026–27 marketing season. Wheat the significant winter crop received an increase of 6.59% to ₹2,585 per quintal, up from ₹2,425 last year. The decision to hike the Minimum Support Prices for rabi crops was taken at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the revision, new MSPs will be ₹2,585 per quintal for wheat, ₹2,150 per quintal for barley, ₹5,875 per quintal for chana, ₹7,000 per quintal for masur, ₹6,200 per quintal for mustard and ₹6,540 per quintal for safflower.
Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) Increased for Rabi Crops Including Wheat
Wheat, the prominent rabi crops for India has seen lucrative hikes year after year. The significant hike this year comes as availability of stocks with both the industry and the government is higher. Notably, prior to the Rabi Season the government has already implemented measures to support farmers including the Rabi Agriculture Fair.
According to a data obtained from the the Food Corp. of India, the central pool had 33.3 million tonnes of wheat stocks as of Sept. 1, up over 32% on year. The current wheat stocks are well above the buffer norm of 27.58 million tonnes–operational stock of 24.58 million tonnes and strategic reserve of 3.00 million tonnes. Further, India’s wheat export ban is also poised to remain imposed till the new stocks arrive in market.
The industry had expected the minimum support price of wheat at INR 2,600 per 100 kilograms, according to discussions at the recent Wheat Summit held in Mumbai. Along with wheat the hike in chana prices is crucial as the central government is looking to reduce import dependency and promote farmers to plant more of it. The MSP of mustard has also been increased by 4.2% or INR 250 to INR 6,200 per 100 kg and for masur by 4.5% or INR 300 to INR 7,000 per 100 kg.