new delhi: The Centre on Wednesday announced a Rs 160 hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to Rs 2,585 per quintal for the 2026-27 marketing year, as part of its efforts to boost domestic output and ensure remunerative prices to farmers.
The wheat MSP is Rs 2,425 per quintal for the 2025-26 marketing year (April-March).
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the increase in the MSP for all six mandated rabi crops for marketing season 2026-27.
The increase in the MSP, in the range of Rs 160 to Rs 600 per quintal, comes ahead of Assembly election in Bihar.
Briefing the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet had approved the MSP based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
Total procurement in rabi marketing season is estimated at 297 lakh tonne and Rs 84,263 crore will be the amount paid to farmers, the minister said.
In absolute terms, the highest increase has been announced for safflower at Rs 600 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at Rs 300 per quintal. For rapeseed and mustard, the increase is Rs 250 per quintal; gram Rs 225 per quintal and barley Rs 170 per quintal.
The MSP for barley has been increased to Rs 2,150 per quintal from Rs 1,980 per quintal.
Among key rabi pulses, the support price for gram has been fixed at Rs 5,875 per quintal, up from Rs 5,650 per quintal. Lentil MSP has been raised to Rs 7,000 per quintal from Rs 6,700 per quintal.
For oilseeds, the MSP of rapeseed and mustard has been raised to Rs 6,200 per quintal from Rs 5,950 per quintal, while safflower support price has been increased to Rs 6,540 per quintal from Rs 5,940 per quintal.
The increased MSP for rabi crops is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices for farmers and incentivising crop diversification, the government said.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the increase in the MSP of rabi crops and launch of pulses mission will have a long-term positive impact on the country’s food and nutrition security, farmer welfare, and agricultural production.
The hike is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.
The expected margin over all-India weighted average cost of production is 109 per cent for wheat, 93 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, 89 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley, and 50 per cent for safflower.