After the issuance of a provisional order on Bt cotton seed pricing by Monopoly and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission's (MRTPC), Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government has asked seed companies, including Mahyco-Monsanto, to set price between Rs650 and Rs750 per 450 gm packet.
According to sources, the AP Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has directed the officials to issue a government order to this effect.
Seed companies will have to set the upper limit of Bt cotton seeds at Rs750 per packet in the state, an official informed media after a meeting.
However, Mahyco-Monsanto is not ready to accept government's direction and claimed that it has time till June 10, 2006 to fix the technology fee as per the MRTPC order.
Challenging the order, Sarita Bahl of Mahyco-Monsanto said that governments of AP and Maharashtra have no authority to intervene in selling prices of Bt cotton hybrids during the interim period.
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