State governments have fixed Bt cotton prices at Rs 750 per 450-gramme packet. Is there a basis for this figure? Apparently, yes. Alapati Satya Narayana, president, research, Nuziveedu Seeds, says: "For a domestic company it costs between Rs 400 and Rs 500 to develop a packet containing 450 grams of seeds. Adding marketing costs and dealers' commission, the price won't exceed Rs 550. A profit margin of Rs 200 is good enough considering it will increase seed sales.' He adds that a lower price will also help curb the market for illegal seeds, which often cause crop failures because they don't always meet rigorous standards of quality and bio-safety. Nuziveedu Seeds has, unsurprisingly, supported the governments' move.