India raises reference prices paid to farmers

By Mayank Bhardwaj and Rajendra Jadhav NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Wednesday raised the government-mandated price for summer crops such as rice and cotton to the highest in five years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to woo millions of farmers ahead of general elections. next year. The country announces support prices for more than a dozen crops each year to establish a benchmark. But analysts say the larger-than-normal increase could hurt the government's finances and fuel inflation. India has raised the price at which it will buy ordinary paddy rice in the new season by 7% to 2,183 rupees ($26.45) per 100 kg, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by by Modi. The government is eager to boost rice production after banning exports of broken grain in September and imposing a 20% tax on exports of various types to calm domestic markets, which rallied after below-average rains limited planting. . This year, government sources told ...