Mizoram ginger procurement hits roadblock as buyers reject govt reserve prices

Aizawl, Feb 4: The Mizoram Government’s attempt to procure ginger from farmers through district agriculture marketing committees (DAMCs) ran into trouble for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, with no buyers willing to lift the produce at the reserve rates fixed by the Government.

The procurement exercise, being carried out through DAMCs in all 11 districts, has failed to take off as prospective buyers, both from within and outside the State, rejected the reserve prices set by the committees, citing a sharp slump in ginger prices across major markets in the country.

Officials of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department said the State Government remains committed to providing a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 50 per kg to farmers.

For buyers, however, the reserve rates were fixed in the range of Rs 40 to Rs 45 per kg at various secondary collection centres (SCCs). “Because of the prevailing low prices elsewhere in the country, no buyer is willing to purchase ginger at these rates,” an official said.

There are 65 SCCs across Mizoram designated as procurement, storage, and sale points for ginger. All of them have failed so far to attract buyers willing to match the reserve price.

In south Mizoram’s Lunglei district, officials said buyers were not prepared to offer more than Rs 32 per kg. “They feel the reserve rate of Rs 41 fixed by the DAMC is too high under the current market conditions,” a district official said.

A similar situation has been reported from Champhai district, which borders Myanmar and is expected to record the highest ginger output in the State this season.

The DAMC has fixed a reserve rate of Rs 43 per kg for the week, but no buyer has come forward. Champhai district is projected to produce over 82,175 quintals of ginger this year.

At Vairengte, a border town adjoining Assam, the SCC has also drawn a blank, with the reserve rate pegged at Rs 45 per kg. Officials said not a single buyer has shown interest.

Amid the stalled ginger procurement, farmers in Vairengte have turned to direct sales of ‘Hmunphiah’ (broom grass or tiger grass), bypassing government channels altogether.

From Monday, they began selling the produce in its undried form at Rs 50 per kg to buyers from Cachar district of Assam. Once dried, the stalks and flowers of broom grass are used to make household cleaning tools.

Under its flagship support programme, the State Government has fixed the MSP of dried broom grass at Rs 80 per kg.

Meanwhile, reports from several districts suggest that some private traders are directly purchasing ginger from farmers at rates ranging between Rs 27 and Rs 30 per kg without routing the trade through DAMCs, primary collection centres or SCCs.

Traders said ginger is currently selling at Rs 35 to Rs 37 per kg in Bagha town in Cachar district and Guwahati in Assam.