In the previous year, the MSP for common variety paddy was Rs 415 per quintal and that of grade A variety paddy was Rs 445 per quintal.

The union cabinet is slated to deliberate on this issue on Friday. The committee had submitted its recommendation on April 7. Though the recommendations of the committee were delayed by only seven days, the agriculture ministry took four months time to decide on the issue and prepare a note for the cabinet. Last year the government announced the MSP for kharif crops on June 30 which was well in advance of the commencement of nursery sowing of rice.

This inordinate delay in announcement of MSP has placed many farmers in a dilemma about increasing the area coverage under riceover the previous year's level. But the rice growers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been promised by their leaders that they would plead with the Centre for more remunerative procurement price for rice to make it almost at par with wheat. In the last rabi marketing season the procurement price and bonus on wheat procurement was made remunerative with pressures from the Punjab and Haryana governments.

The issue of kharif MSP was slated for cabinet discussion on Thursday, but as prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was pre-occupied with extensive discussions with the riparian state chief ministers on the Cauvery water issue, the cabinet meeting was postponed by a day.

The issue will, however, be decided in absence of the union minster of state for agriculture, Sompal who has left for Argentina. Sources in the agriculture ministry stated that the delay in announcement of MSP for kharif crops was because the government wanted to avoid discussion on the subject when Parliament was in sessionas the decision on kharif MSP was likely to add to the problems faced by the government.

Along with the MSP for paddy varieties, the commission has recommended MSP for other kharif crops like jowar, bajra, maize, tur, arhar, moong, groundnut, sunflower, soyabean, cotton and tobacco. The MSP for all these kharif crops is finalised by the Union agriculture ministry with the exception of tobacco which will be finalised by the commerce ministry later.The centre is also dilly-dallying in case of announcement of the statutory minimum price (SMP) for the year for sugarcanes. The commission had already submitted their recommendations on cane SMP to the ministry way back in early October, 1997.

The commission has also recommended MSP well in time on July 31, 1998 for several rabi crops like wheat, barley, gram, mustard and safflower for the 1998-99 rabi marketing season. The agriculture ministry is slated to take a decision on this probably in November.