FCI will release 30 lakh tonnes of wheat from the central pool stock. (file)
New Delhi:
The Roller Flour Millers Federation of India (RFMFI) on Thursday lauded the government’s decision to sell 30 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market and said the move would bring down the prices of wheat and atta (flour) by Rs 5-6 apiece. Kilogram.
The Center on Wednesday announced selling 30 lakh tonnes of wheat from its buffer stock in the open market to check the rise in prices of wheat and atta (flour).
The stock will be sold by the state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) through various channels during the next two months.
While wheat will be sold through e-auction to bulk consumers like flour millers, FCI will sell the grain to public sector units/cooperatives/federations, Kendriya Bhandar/NCCF/NAFED for converting the grain into flour and offering it at Rs 23.50 per kg Will offer wheat at the rate of Rs. At a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 29.50 per kg for the public.
RFMFI President Pramod Kumar said, “We welcome the government’s decision. It should have been taken a month ago. This is a right step. Wholesale and retail prices will come down by Rs 5-6 per kg.
According to government data, the average price of wheat in major cities stood at Rs 33.43 per kg on Wednesday, as against Rs 28.24 per kg a year ago. Atta (wheat flour) averaged Rs 37.95 per kg as against Rs 31.41 per kg a year ago.
The Food Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that FCI will offload 3 million tonnes of wheat from the central pool stock through various routes under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic).
The ministry had said that the sale of wheat in the market through this scheme would have an “immediate impact on the rising prices of wheat and flour and help contain the rising prices and bring great relief to the common man”.
To deal with the rising prices of wheat and flour, a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah met on Wednesday and discussed the country’s buffer stock position.
The committee decided that a maximum of 3,000 tonnes of wheat per buyer per auction would be offered through e-auction to flour mills, bulk buyers etc.
States and Union Territories will also be offered wheat for their schemes without e-auction.
Wheat will be offered at a concessional rate of Rs 2,350 per quintal without e-auction to Government PSUs/Cooperatives/Federations, Kendriya Bhandar/NCCF/NAFED etc.
The ministry had said, “Sale under this special scheme will be subject to the condition that the buyer will convert the wheat into flour and offer it to the public at a maximum retail price of Rs 29.50 per kg.”
FCI will launch wheat in the market within the next two months. It will start the process of e-auction of shares immediately across the country from January to March 2023.
FCI, the government’s nodal agency for procurement and distribution of food grains, had about 171.70 lakh tonnes of wheat in its buffer stock as on January 1.
Under the OMSS policy, the government allows FCI to sell food grains, especially wheat and rice, to bulk consumers and private traders at pre-determined prices in the open market from time to time.
The objective is to boost supply and reduce general open market prices during the lean season.
The Center had banned wheat exports in May last year to control prices following a marginal decline in domestic production and a sharp fall in FCI procurement for the central pool.
India’s wheat production fell to 106.84 million tonnes in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from 109.59 million tonnes in the previous year due to heat wave conditions in some states. Procurement fell sharply to 19 million tonnes this year from around 43 million tonnes last year.
The area under wheat crops is slightly higher in the current rabi (winter-sown) season. Procurement of new wheat crop will start from April 2023
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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