Cabinet approves Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for 2023 -24 season

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister of India, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for the 2023-24 season.

Jute

• Jute is one of the most important natural fibres after cotton in terms of cultivation and usage
• Climatic conditions required for its growth
  • Temperature:Between 25-35°C
  • Rainfall: Around 150-250 cm
  • Soil Type:Well-drained alluvial soil.
• India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China.
• It is mainly grown in eastern India because of the rich alluvial soil of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.
• In India, major jute-producing states include West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.

What is the Minimum support price?

• A minimum support price (MSP) is a minimum price for any crop that the Government considers as remunerative for farmers and hence deserving of “support”.
• It is also the price that Government agencies pay whenever they procure a particular crop from the farmers.
• There is currently no statutory backing for these prices, nor any law mandating their enforcement.
• Crops covered under MSP: At present, the Central Government sets MSP for 23
  • 7 cereals (Bajra, wheat, maize, paddy barley, ragi and jowar);
  • 5 pulses (tur, chana, Masur, urad and moong);
  • 7 oilseeds (sunflower, mustard, niger seed, soya bean, groundnut, sesame and sunflower);
  • 4 commercial crops (raw jute, cotton, copra and sugarcane).

How does the Government decide on the MSP?

• The Government announces the MSP at the start of each cropping season (Rabi and Kharif).
• The MSP is decided after the Government exhaustively studies the recommendations made by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.