State farmers get landmark oil palm price edge over Telangana
Andhra Pradesh secured a record oil palm price of ₹20,680 per tonne for 2025–26, surpassing Telangana for the first time. With higher OER, subsidies, assured procurement and rapid area expansion, the state now leads India in oil palm area, production and farmer returns.
Vijayawada: Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu on Wednesday said that Andhra Pradesh has, for the first time in the history of oil palm cultivation, secured a higher price for farmers than neighbouring Telangana, describing it as a landmark outcome of the coalition government’s farmer-centric policies.
Addressing oil palm farmers and representatives of oil palm associations who met him at his camp office here to express their gratitude, the minister said the government had declared an Oil Extraction Ratio (OER) of 20.01 per cent for the 2025–26 oil year, ensuring a remunerative price of Rs 20,680 per metric tonne for Andhra Pradesh farmers. In comparison, oil palm farmers in Telangana received Rs 20,456 per metric tonne for January, giving Andhra Pradesh farmers an additional Rs 224 per metric tonne, he pointed out.
Atchannaidu said Andhra Pradesh currently ranks first in the country in oil palm area, production and productivity. Across the state, nearly 1.97 lakh farmers are cultivating oil palm over 2.49 lakh hectares, transforming it into a profitable alternative crop. Owing to key decisions taken by the government during the 2024–25 oil year, farmers received an average price of ₹19,579 per metric tonne, the highest in the last decade, he said, adding that this had significantly boosted farmer confidence.
The minister said crop diversification was being successfully implemented in the state, with a growing number of farmers shifting from traditional crops to oil palm.
Timely announcement of prices, subsidies for drip irrigation equipment to reduce cultivation costs, and assured procurement immediately after harvest had insulated farmers from market volatility, he noted.
In the 2025–26 financial year, the state achieved a record expansion of new oil palm plantations over 24,535 hectares, the highest in the past decade. So far, Rs 181.28 crore has been released under various schemes, of which Rs 137.28 crore has been directly credited to farmers’ accounts.
Under the National Mission on Edible Oils, the government is providing free seedlings, cultivation incentives and substantial subsidies on equipment to develop oil palm as a future-ready crop, Atchannaidu said.
Farmers expressed confidence that, under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, the agriculture sector would be further strengthened and Andhra Pradesh would emerge as a national leader in oil palm production.
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Source : The Hans India
