By Parv Badjatiya · 2026-06-08
Uttar Pradesh Announces ₹24/kg Maize MSP — What It Means for Cattle Feed Buyers
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced that it will buy maize from farmers at ₹2,400 per quintal (₹24 per kg) under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme, running from 15 June to 31 July 2026 across 24 districts. With the current open-market price sitting around ₹20–21/kg (see our daily maize price tracker), the MSP is set roughly 15–20% above market — a meaningful gap that will pull maize off the open market and likely lift feed-mill input costs nationally.
Headline numbers
- MSP rate: ₹24/kg (₹2,400/quintal)
- Market price now: ₹20–21/kg (₹2,000–2,100/quintal)
- Premium over market: ₹3–4/kg (~15–20%)
- Procurement window: 15 June → 31 July 2026 (about 6.5 weeks)
- Procurement target: 25,000 MT
- Districts covered: 24 across UP
- UP annual maize production: about 2.4 million MT
What the scheme actually says
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Procurement price (MSP) | ₹2,400/quintal = ₹24/kg |
| Current open-market rate | ₹20–21/kg |
| Premium farmers will get | ₹300–400 per quintal |
| Procurement target | 25,000 MT |
| Procurement window | 15 June – 31 July 2026 |
| Number of UP districts covered | 24 |
| UP total annual maize output | ~2.4 million MT (240 lakh MT) |
| MSP procurement as % of UP output | About 1% |
A "quintal" is 100 kg in Indian commodity trade, so ₹2,400/quintal is just another way of writing ₹24/kg. The 25,000 MT target is small relative to UP's annual maize production — only about 1%. So this is not a buy-the-whole-market scheme. It is a price-signal scheme designed to put a floor under farmers' expectations.
The market price vs MSP gap, visualised
Current open market ████████████████████ ₹20–21/kg
MSP (government buy) ████████████████████████ ₹24/kg
Gap: ₹3–4/kg (15–20% higher for farmers)
This ₹3–4/kg premium is what will shape the rest of the story. Farmers who can sell to the government will obviously prefer ₹24/kg over ₹20/kg. Even farmers in districts not covered by the scheme will likely hold back stock in the hope that nearby buyers raise their bids closer to the MSP level.
Who is currently buying maize at ₹20–21/kg
Maize is one of the most widely-used feed grains in India. The current buyers of UP maize at open-market rates are:
- Poultry feed manufacturers (largest single buyer — broiler + layer feed)
- Cattle feed manufacturers — maize is a primary energy ingredient in Type-1 and Type-2 compound feed
- Layer feed producers
- Starch industries (food, paper, textile)
- Ethanol plants in some regions
- Traders and stockists holding inventory
All of these buyers compete for the same maize supply. If 25,000 MT is pulled out by government procurement and another portion is held back by farmers expecting higher prices, the open-market supply tightens for everyone — including cattle feed mills.
Why this matters for cattle feed
Maize typically sits at 10–35% of a compound cattle feed formulation, depending on whether it is Type-1 or Type-2 and which stage of animal it targets (see our cattle feed stages guide). For a feed mill running a Type-1 formulation with 25% maize inclusion, every ₹1/kg rise in maize price translates to ₹0.25/kg increase in compound feed input cost — which gets passed on to dairy farmers.
Here is the rough math for a lactating dairy cow eating 5 kg/day of compound feed:
| Item | Before | If maize rises ₹3/kg | Daily change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maize in 5 kg of feed (25%) | 1.25 kg × ₹20.50 = ₹25.60 | 1.25 kg × ₹23.50 = ₹29.40 | +₹3.80/cow/day |
For a 5-cow dairy, that is about +₹19/day = ₹570/month in extra feed cost. For a 10-cow dairy, ₹1,140/month. The damage scales linearly with herd size.
For buffalo eating 6 kg/day of higher-protein concentrate, the impact is slightly larger per head.
Will maize prices actually rise? Three honest scenarios
The poultry industry analysis circulating online assumes a confident price rise. We think it depends on which of three things happens:
Scenario 1 — Full government procurement (price rise likely). If the UP government actually buys the full 25,000 MT at ₹24/kg, that supply leaves the open market. Combined with farmers in covered districts holding back stock for the MSP queue, open-market price could climb toward ₹23–24/kg during the procurement window. Feed mills face a ₹2–4/kg input cost rise.
Scenario 2 — Procurement falls short of target (small price rise). If government procurement under-delivers — common with state MSP schemes when farmers find local procurement centres inconvenient — only a few thousand MT get bought. The psychological signal still pulls prices up but the supply impact is smaller. Open-market price probably moves to ₹22–23/kg before stabilising.
Scenario 3 — Procurement happens but UP is oversupplied (limited price impact). If UP's 2026 maize harvest is unusually strong, 25,000 MT of government buying barely registers. Prices stay close to current ₹20–21/kg, maybe up ₹0.50–1/kg as a token response.
Right now, our daily maize tracker shows the open-market price already starting to firm — Maize moved from ₹20.80/kg to ₹21.20/kg in the last few sessions. That suggests Scenario 1 or 2 is more likely than 3, though it is early.
What cattle feed mills should do now
Three practical responses:
1. Lock in cover where you can. If you operate a feed mill or a large dairy with on-site mixing, consider buying 3–6 weeks of maize cover at current rates before the 15 June procurement window opens. Beyond that, the risk of paying MSP-level prices is real.
2. Stress-test your formulation flexibility. If maize hits ₹23–24/kg, can you substitute partially? Some options:
- DDGS (maize or rice DDGS) is a partial energy + protein replacement
- De-oiled rice bran (DORB) at ₹20–21/kg becomes more attractive when maize is firm
- Corn grits / broken maize sometimes trades at a discount to whole grain
3. Hold off raising your retail bag prices for one cycle. Smaller dairy farmers buying BIS Type-1 or Type-2 feed are already squeezed by recent protein cake firmness. A maize-driven price hike on top will hurt sales volume. Absorbing one cycle of input cost rise often saves more than it costs in dealer churn.
What dairy farmers should do
Check our daily maize price tracker at least weekly during the procurement window. If your local market price climbs past ₹23/kg, that is your signal that compound feed bag prices will follow within 2–4 weeks (the typical pass-through lag in compound feed pricing).
If you can pre-buy 4 weeks of compound feed at current rates, do it. The cost saving on a 5-cow dairy could easily be ₹500–1,000 if the firm scenario plays out.
What we are watching over the next 6 weeks
Four signals will tell us how this MSP plays out:
- 15–22 June actual procurement — does UP buy at the announced pace? State agriculture departments publish daily/weekly procurement totals.
- Mandi arrivals in UP — if arrivals dip sharply in the procurement districts, farmers are holding stock for MSP.
- Inter-state maize trade flows — UP normally exports surplus maize to West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and other deficit states. If those flows slow, southern feed mills will see firmer prices too.
- Poultry industry reaction — broiler chicken retail prices are a 2-week-lagged signal of feed cost stress. A spike there confirms the maize firmness is real and not noise.
We will update this story as procurement numbers come in.
Related reading
- Maize in Cattle Feed — Inclusion, Aflatoxin & Acidosis (India)
- Maize DDGS, Rice DDGS & Maize DOC in Cattle Feed
- Compound Cattle Feed in India — BIS Type 1 vs Type 2 & Pellets
- Daily maize price (India)
- Daily India prices dashboard
Source
Uttar Pradesh state government MSP announcement for maize procurement, June 2026. Procurement specification: ₹2,400/quintal across 24 districts from 15 June to 31 July 2026, with a 25,000 MT target. Current open-market price reference is our own daily wholesale tracking. All scenarios and dairy/feed-mill analysis above are our own work.