As the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of milling copra at ₹11,160 per quintal and ball copra at ₹12,000 per quintal for the 2024 season, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda welcomed the decision.
“The MSP for milling copra has been increased by ₹300 per quintal and for ball copra by ₹250 for 2024. This Cabinet decision comes as a relief to farmers. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said on social media platform X. Incidentally, Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress legislators had clashed in the recently held legislature session at Belagavi over the MSP for farmers, who are in distress due to fall of prices.
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 milling copra, whereas ball copra is produced predominantly in Karnataka, a PIB release said. In the last 10 years, the government has increased MSP for milling copra and ball copra from ₹5,250 per quintal and ₹5,500 per quintal in 2014-15 to ₹11,160 per quintal and ₹12,000 per quintal in 2024-25, registering a growth of 113% and 118%, respectively, it added.
The release said that in the current season 2023, the government has procured a record amount of more than 1.33 lakh tonnes of copra, at the cost of ₹1,493 crore, benefiting around 90,000 farmers. The procurement in the current season 2023 indicates a rise of 227% over the previous season (2022). A higher MSP will not only ensure better remunerative returns to the coconut growers but also incentivise farmers to expand copra production to meet the growing demand for coconut products both domestically and internationally.
