Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has advised farmers to release their groundnut stocks immediately to get better net prices.

This is based on the econometric analysis conducted by the Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell. The cell functions in the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (CARDS) of TNAU.

Their market survey revealed that the price of groundnut pods, which hovered around Rs. 2,300 a quintal, would now increase by Rs. 25 a quintal in October due to the festival season. It was expected to come down in November and remain stable.

The survey earlier noted that the reduction of groundnut cultivating area could push the price upward compared to last year. The Solvent Extractors' Association of India reports however confirmed that eight per cent decline in edible oil imports was compensated by cotton-seed and rice bran oil. Hence, there would be a balancing effect in groundnut oil prices.

Although India was the world's largest producer of groundnut, it accounted only for a small part of international trade, since most of its production was consumed as oil domestically. Gujarat stood first in production, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

However, the area under groundnut cultivation was decreasing not only in Tamil Nadu, but also in other parts of India. Palm oil and soya bean oil act as a close substitute for groundnut oil with their increased import from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil.

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