To contain rising wheat prices, the central government on Friday decided to waive freight charges and sell the grain at a reserve price of ₹2,350 per quintal to bulk users across India through e-auction.
“Reserve Price for Sale of Wheat under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) at ₹2350/quintal (Pan India) for Fair and Average Quality (FAQ) and ₹2300/quintal (Pan India) under Relaxed Specifications (URS) Will happen. Wheat of all crops including Rabi Mandi Season (RMS) 2023-24 without adding any transportation cost component. This will help in supply of wheat at reasonable prices to the general public in different parts of the country."
In addition, states may be permitted to procure wheat from FCI at the above reserve price for their scheme without participating in e-auction, the government said.
A meeting of the Committee of Ministers was held last month under the chairmanship of Home Minister Amit Shah to review the prices of essential commodities. The committee decided to release 30 LMT wheat from FCI stock through Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).
Besides this, the government has reduced the price of FCI wheat supplied to institutions like Nafed, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar from Rs 23.50 to Rs 21.50 per kg. These institutions were being offered wheat to convert the grain into flour and sell it at the maximum retail price of ₹29.50 per kg, but have now been asked to sell it at ₹27.50 per kg.
The decision in this regard was taken by the Food Ministry in consultation with its Finance counterpart.
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 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. The procurement of new wheat crop will start from March 15.
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