The tussle over price of cotton seeds between the seed industry and Mahyco-Monsanto – the Bt cotton technology provider — has reached the PMO, with the cotton industry seeking the Centre’s intervention in resolving the issue.
Invoking the Patent Act, Competition Act or the Environment Protection Act, the industry had asked the government to help fix the price of cotton seeds, including the royalty fee (or trait value).
In this regard, the Union government had issued a notification over the issue, stating that Bt cotton seed has been monopolised, leading to its higher cost. The government has suggested that seeds must be made available at fair, reasonable and affordable prices, particularly considering the rising cost of production. The government intends on bringing uniformity in pricing across the country.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has passed orders for a price cap on cotton seeds from March to overcome this monopolistic control of Monsanto-Mahyco Biotech (MMBL).
The issue flared up after the Maharashtra government reduced the price of Bollgard I and Bollgard II by R100 each, setting the maximum retail price (MRP) at Rs 830 and Rs 930 per 450 gram pack.
Pointing at the issues that dogged the industry, the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) executive Kalyan B Goswami noted the contract between the seed firms and MMBL for accessing Bt technology and MRP of cotton seeds. “The MRP remained stagnant between 2006 and 2010, and again between 2011 and 2015. Within a span of 10 years, the price went up only once,” Goswami said, adding, “The States have never shown interest in recognising the contracts and licences. They haven’t considered the trait values mentioned in the contracts. But MMBL insists that we obey the contractual obligations.”
The seed business is worth Rs 5,000 crore and 98 per cent of the cotton is of the GM variety. The country’s output jumped four-fold after the introduction of Bt cotton in 2002. The issue has been referred to anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India, and the company has also written to the PMO, seeking its intervention.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
