NEW DELHI: The government has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of milling copra by Rs 300 per quintal and ball copra by Rs 250 per quintal for the 2024 season, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MSP for Fair Average Quality of milling copra has been fixed at Rs 11,160 per quintal and for ball copra at Rs 12,000 per quintal for 2024 season.

This will ensure a margin of 51.84 per cent for milling copra and 63.26 per cent for ball copra, which are well beyond 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production, the statement explained.

Milling copra is used to extract oil, while ball/edible copra is consumed as a dry fruit and used for religious purposes. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are major producers of million copra, whereas ball copra is produced predominantly in Karnataka.

A higher MSP will not only ensure better remunerative returns to the coconut growers but also incentivize farmers to expand copra production to meet the growing demand for coconut products both domestically and internationally, the statement said.

Meanwhile, in the current 2023 season, the government has procured a record amount of more than 1.33 lakh metric tonnes of copra, at the cost of Rs 1,493 crore, benefiting around 90,000 farmers.

The procurement in the current season 2023 indicates a rise of 227 per cent over the previous season (2022).