**Soybean Price Crash Leaves Indore Farmers in Distress**
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 reported that at Indore’s Lakshmibai Mandi, good quality soybean is fetching between Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,800 per quintal. Meanwhile, 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.
Jadhav alleged that traders have formed a cartel to keep prices suppressed. Farmers, burdened by loans and instalment pressures, are forced to sell their crop at rock-bottom prices. He also pointed out a troubling disparity: while soybean prices have hit record lows, soybean oil prices remain unchanged. Currently, an 850-gram pouch of refined soybean oil is retailing at Rs 130.
Interestingly, companies have quietly reduced the pack size from nearly 900 grams to 850 grams, a move criticised by farmer leaders as profiteering. Leaders under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, including Ramswaroop Mantri, Chandan Singh Badwaria, and Shailendra Patel, emphasized that when soybeans previously sold above Rs 6,000 per quintal, oil prices were the same as today. Now, with prices halved, traders and companies continue to extract profits while farmers suffer.
Adding to the crisis, the leaders noted that this season’s yields have been poor, averaging only 2-3 quintals per bigha.
In response to the ongoing distress, the farmer leaders have demanded that the government immediately purchase soybeans at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to provide much-needed relief to struggling farmers.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/soya-farmers-in-distress-as-prices-crash-says-farmer-leaders-at-indores-lakshmibai-mandi