Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The plight of farmers continues as soybean prices have crashed, leaving cultivators in distress. Despite repeated protests, they are not getting fair prices for their produce, said farmer leaders here on Thursday.
Kisan leader Bablu Jadhav said that at Indore’s Lakshmibai Mandi, good quality soybean is fetching between Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,800 per quintal, while inferior and moisture-laden produce is selling below Rs 3,000.
Even dried stock is trading at only Rs 3,800 to Rs 4,000. He alleged that traders have formed a cartel to keep prices suppressed, and farmers who are burdened by loans and instalment pressures are forced to sell their crop at rock-bottom prices.
Jadhav pointed out that while soybean prices are at their lowest, soybean oil prices remain unchanged. An 850-gram pouch of refined soybean oil is retailing at Rs 130. Earlier, a "one-litre" pouch contained nearly 900 grams, but companies have quietly reduced it to 850 grams.
Farmer leaders under Samyukt Kisan Morcha, including Ramswaroop Mantri, Chandan Singh Badwaria, and Shailendra Patel, have strongly criticised this profiteering.
They pointed out that when soybeans sold above Rs 6,000 per quintal, oil prices were the same as today, and now, even at half the rate, traders and companies continue to extract profits while farmers suffer.
They added that yields this season have been poor, averaging only 2-3 quintals per bigha, further worsening the crisis. The leaders have demanded that the government immediately purchase soybeans at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to provide relief to the struggling farmers.
