Buying of Sunflower to Resume Soon

Karimnagar: MARKFED regional director Mohmaad Habeeb said on Thursday that the government is committed to procuring the entire sunflower crop from farmers in Rajanna Sircilla district and assured that procurement will continue after the increased targets are approved.

In the statement, Yasangi (rabi) said that the initial supply target of 2,39,330 mt for the 2025-26 season has been fully met. The supplied stocks were transferred to Nafed and the State Storage Company in accordance with the rules.

According to data from the district agriculture official, sunflower was planted in 1,670.28 acres and the total production was estimated at 1,169,196 metric tons; this exceeded the initial purchase target. This, he said, led to a temporary halt to purchases in Agricultural Market Committees after the permissible limits were reached.

Habeeb said proposals have been sent to the state government to improve the procurement target to match the estimated output and ensure that farmers receive a Minimum Support Price of Rs 7,721 per quintal.

He advised farmers not to resort to distress sales and said procurement would resume at all centers once approval was received.

He said the government was ready to provide the full surplus and appealed to farmers to be patient until the revised limits are approved.