It is difficult to start wheat sale under OMSS in the current month.
06-Jun-2024 12:41 PM
New Delhi. In view of the slight increase in the purchase of wheat for the central pool, the Food Ministry may have difficulty in taking a decision to start e-auction (sale) of this important food grain under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) from the current month.
The government had set a target of purchasing 373 lakh tonnes of wheat this time, while the actual purchase has not even reached 270 lakh tonnes. The time for government purchase of wheat is gradually coming to an end and now there is a negligible arrival of this grain at the purchase centers.
All kinds of tricks were adopted by the central and state governments to ensure the purchase of wheat in maximum quantity, but they did not prove effective.
According to official sources, the government is keeping a close watch on the prices of wheat in the domestic sector and at present the situation has not reached a worrying level.
It is true that even in the peak season of supply, the price of wheat did not fall as expected, but it seems that a good amount of it has been purchased by flour millers and traders.
It was already clear that the auction sale of wheat will not start before the formation of a new government at the Centre. Now the exercise to form the government has started and the decision of auction sale can be taken by the new Food Minister.
It will also be necessary to see in whose account the Food Ministry goes among the BJP and its allies in the NDA. The Prime Minister is going to be sworn in on 8 June.
It is worth mentioning that in March 2024, the Food Ministry had approved a new policy for the sale of surplus quantity of food grains (wheat and rice) in the Central Pool under the Buffer Stock Rules (OMSS), which is valid from 1 April to 31 July.
This policy is to be reviewed on 7 June and after that the new reserve price is determined which will be valid for the remaining months of the current financial year. But since the May government is to be sworn in on 8 June, it will be difficult to review on 7 June.