State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) will offer 11.72 lakh tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers like flour millers during the third e-auction to be held next week. In the last two weekly e-auctions, about 13.05 lakh tonnes wheat was sold, out of which 8.96 lakh tonnes has already been lifted by the bidders which has resulted in cooling down of retail prices of wheat and atta.
FCI plans to sell 25 lakh tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) till March end as part of the government's measure to check rise in domestic prices.
In a statement, the food ministry said FCI will offer 11.72 lakh tonnes of wheat from 620 depots across the country during the third e-auction to be held at 11 am on February 22. Bidders, who have registered themselves on the e-portal of M-Junction by 10 pm on February 17, will be allowed to participate in the e-auction on February 22, it said. The last date for deposit and uploading of earnest money is February 21 till 2:30 pm.
On Friday, the government further reduced the reserve price for sale of wheat through OMSS scheme to bring down the price of wheat and atta. The reserve price of fair and average (FAQ) quality wheat has been reduced to Rs 2,150 per quintal, while for Under Relaxed Specifications (URS) wheat to Rs 2,125 per quintal. These new reserve prices are applicable from the third sale of wheat through e-auction. "The announcement of revision in uniform reserve price across the country by the GOI would benefit the consumer across the country and would further bring down the prices of wheat and atta," the ministry said.
In order to address the rising price of wheat and Atta in the country, as per the recommendation made by the Group of Ministers, FCI is releasing a toal 30 lakh tonnes wheat stock from the Central pool stock to the market through various routes under the OMSS. Out of 30 lakh tonnes, FCI will sell 25 lakh tonnes to bulk consumers like flour millers through e-auction, 2 lakh tonnes will be given to states/union territories and 3 lakh tonnes to institutions and state-PSUs at concessional rates for converting wheat into wheat flour.
FCI, the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, had around 156.96 lakh tonnes of wheat as of January 26 in the buffer stock. On April 1, the country would have a wheat stock of 96 lakh tonnes, just above the buffer norm requirement of 75 lakh tonnes. Under the OMSS policy, the government allows FCI to sell food grains, especially wheat and rice, at predetermined prices in the open market from time to time to bulk consumers and private traders. The purpose is to boost the supply during the lean season and moderate the general open market prices.
The Centre had banned wheat exports in May last year to control prices, after a slight fall in domestic production and a sharp decline in the FCI's 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 waves in a few states. The procurement fell sharply to 19 million tonnes this year from around 43 million tonnes last year.
However, wheat production this year is projected to hit a new record of 112.18 million tonnes. The procurement of the new wheat crop would commence from March 15.