India Hikes Minimum Intervention Price

India's central government has increased the rice intervention price for common grade paddy rice by INR1, 050 PMT to INR8, 500/ton for the marketing year that begins in October 2008 as an interim measure.

According to Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, there was no case to increase minimum price for other crops, as their market prices were already higher than the minimum intervention prices.

In India, the government sets the intervention price for agricultural commodities and makes purchases if market rates slip below those prices, to ensure remunerative incomes for farmers.