Ensure no shortage of gunny bags in Kharif season: Maharashtra minister tells officials

Mumbai, Nov 19 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has instructed officials to avoid a shortage of gunny bags at procurement centres during the ongoing 2025-26 Kharif season.

Registration for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) purchase of soybean, urad and moong began on October 30, and as many as 2,20,316 farmers have enrolled until November 18, an official release said.

Marketing Minister Jaykumar Rawal on Wednesday reviewed the progress of procurement centres and the availability of packaging material at a review meeting. He directed the administration to ensure that there is no shortage of gunny bags.

Of the 725 proposals received for procurement centres, the state government has approved 713, while NAFED and NCCF have cleared 579, and 484 centres are currently operational, according to the release.

Procurement has already crossed 11,099 quintals from 528 farmers as of November 18, marking a significant expansion compared to last season's 562 centres, it said.

The state has set procurement targets of 18.50 lakh tonnes for soybean, 33,000 tonnes for moong and 3.25 lakh tonnes for urad this year. The Centre has raised the MSP rates to Rs 5,328 per quintal for soybean, Rs 8,768 for moong, and Rs 7,800 for urad.

Procurement will be carried out between November 15 and February 12, through NAFED and NCCF in coordination with three nodal agencies in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. PTI MR NSK