There is good news for oil palm cultivators in Andhra Pradesh. They will get a hike of Rs 609 a tonne.
The Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy today announced the enhancement of oil palm crop price from Rs 6,907 to Rs 7, 516 per tonne.
The announcement comes in the wake of repeated pleas from farmers and associations for a hike in price and abolition of VAT (value-added tax) on the palm oil crop.
The decision will benefit 58,000 oil palm farmers to the tune of Rs 48 crore.
The Chief Minister held meetings with stakeholders and abolished VAT. He also requested the Prime Minister and the Union Agriculture Minister to encourage palm oil farmers, as the country was importing about Rs 50,000 crore worth palm oil annually, a Government press release said.
Kiran Kumar asked officials to prepare a detailed project report to submit to the Prime Minister and Union Minister to seek assistance to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore for ten years ( Rs 2,000 crore annually) for the promotion of oil palm crop.