The Union Agriculture Ministry has decided to maintain the maximum retail price (MRP) of Bt cottonseed for Bolgard I and II varieties for the upcoming kharif season, consistent with the pricing in 2025-26. Last year, the MRP for Bolgard II was set at ₹900 per packet (450 grams), an increase from ₹864 per packet in 2024-25. The MRP for Bolgard I has remained at ₹635 per packet since the price control mechanism was introduced in 2016.
On April 23, a late-night gazette notification from the agriculture ministry indicated that after considering the recommendations of the relevant committee, the price for a packet of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton seeds—475 grams containing 5 to 10 percent non-Bt cotton—will remain the same as announced on March 27, 2025, for the financial year 2026-27.
Businessline previously reported that there was a strong likelihood of no price increase this year, as seen in 2019-20 when the MRP for Bolgard II was held steady at ₹710 per packet. Despite a 4 percent increase last year compared to only a 1 percent hike in 2024-25, the lack of a price increase this year is not expected to significantly affect the industry. Nevertheless, the seed industry has reportedly advocated for a price adjustment in line with general inflation, according to sources.
In compliance with the Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order, 2015, the government convened a stakeholders meeting in March to discuss the Bt cotton MRP, which is a legal requirement to notify yearly price adjustments.
The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, an affiliate of the RSS, has criticized the MRP fixation for Bt cotton, arguing that it has led to depressed prices for non-GM cotton, which is selling for as low as ₹300-400 per packet. They also questioned the pest resistance capacity of Bt cotton against Pink Bollworm (PBW), asserting that price declaration for Bt cotton was unnecessary.
The MRP was instituted in 2016 to protect farmers from being charged excessive rates for Bt cottonseeds. Officials noted that without fixed prices, farmers would be vulnerable to higher charges, emphasizing that the order specifies a maximum cap, not a minimum price.
In a response to a question in the Lok Sabha in February, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur stated that approximately 95 percent of the area under cotton cultivation is planted with Bt cotton. However, he acknowledged that PBW has developed resistance to Bt protein, becoming a significant pest in all cotton-growing regions. The minister also indicated that while Bt cotton has continued to manage the American bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), the prevalence of sucking pests has increased over time. Consequently, farmers are now spending more on pesticides compared to the initial years following the introduction of Bt cotton.
Thakur noted that the adoption of Bt cotton does not serve as a reliable indicator of yield trends but was previously associated with reductions in pesticide usage.
Published on April 24, 2026.
