Centre raises wheat MSP by Rs 25 to Rs 2,610/quintal; pulses, oilseeds get bigger hike for 2027-28

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat marginally by Rs 25 to Rs 2,610 per quintal for the 2027-28 rabi marketing year, while increasing support prices of pulses and oilseeds by up to Rs 675 per quintal.

The MSP for wheat in the 2026-27 rabi marketing year (April-March) was Rs 2,585 per quintal.

The proposal from the agriculture ministry on MSP for wheat and five other rabi crops was cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, along with gram, masur and rapeseed/mustard. Sowing of all six rabi crops begins next month, while harvesting starts in April.

"The production cost of wheat is Rs 1,264 per quintal, but MSP has been kept at more than double, at Rs 2,610 per quintal for 2027-28," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters.

Barley MSP has been raised to Rs 2,286 per quintal from Rs 2,150 in 2026-27.

Among pulses, the MSP of gram has been increased by Rs 83 to Rs 5,958 per quintal from Rs 5,875, while that of masur (lentil) has been raised by Rs 390 to Rs 7,390 per quintal from Rs 7,000.

For oilseeds, the MSP of rapeseed/mustard has gone up by Rs 413 to Rs 6,613 per quintal from Rs 6,200. Safflower has seen the steepest increase of Rs 675, to Rs 7,215 per quintal from Rs 6,540.

The total payout to farmers for procurement of 324 lakh tonnes in the 2027-28 marketing year is estimated at Rs 90,962 crore, the minister said.

Asked about the marginal increase in wheat and gram MSP, Vaishnaw said the government has assured a margin of at least 50 per cent over the cost of production for all six mandated rabi crops.

The expected margin over the All-India weighted average cost of production is 106 per cent for wheat, followed by 96 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, 92 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley and 50 per cent for safflower.

"This increased MSP of rabi crops will ensure remunerative prices to the farmers and incentivise crop diversification," the ministry said in a statement.

In recent years, the government has been promoting the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, as opposed to cereals, by offering a higher MSP for these crops, the minister said.

On the possible impact of the MSP hike on food inflation, Vaishnaw said the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) had factored in the interests of farmers and consumers, as well as the need for sustained agricultural growth, while recommending the MSP.

Taking a dig at the previous governments, Vaishnaw said: "Modi's NDA government has been working in the interest of farmers. The same decisions in the previous regime were seen as having vested interest; now those decisions are seen as universal interest."

He said that since Independence, agricultural growth had been a big challenge, with 3-3.5 per cent growth considered significant. But the growth in the last 12 years has been consistent at over 4 per cent.

"This is a big change. Its impact is directly on farmers' wellbeing, food security and self-sufficiency. We never thought there could be such good growth in the farm sector," he said, adding that the government was committed to providing at least a 50 per cent margin through MSP.

The agriculture ministry has set a food grain production target of 177.72 million tonnes for the 2026-27 crop year (July-June), including 121 million tonnes of wheat.