CABINET CLEARS HIKE IN MSP FOR COPRA

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of milling copra by ₹375 per quintal and ball copra by ₹300 per quintal, a commodity grown in 12 coastal states.

Copra is the dried coconut kernel from which coconut oil is pressed.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the hike in the MSP for fair average quality of milling copra to ₹10,335 per quintal from ₹9,960 per quintal for the 2020 season, while the MSP for ball copra has been increased to ₹10,600 per quintal from ₹10,300 per quintal last year.

Holding a briefing on the Cabinet decision, Union minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said the MSP of milling copra is higher by 52 per cent than the production cost, while the support price of ball copra is 55 per cent higher.

The increase in copra MSP for 2021 season is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production, which was announced by the government in the Budget 2018-19.

The approval is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).