News Capsule: India: Slow Wheat Sales Under OMSS — Is OMSS Necessary in the Current Scenario?
07-Feb-2026 12:26 PM
News Capsule: India: Slow Wheat Sales Under OMSS — Is OMSS Necessary in the Current Scenario?
★ Under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), the government has so far offered 0.851 million tonnes (8.51 lakh tonnes) of wheat. Out of this, bids were received for 0.541 million tonnes, and actual sales stood at 0.496 million tonnes. The average bidding response was 58.35%, indicating relatively limited demand for government wheat.
★ Although a few auctions in mid-January witnessed improved participation, overall offtake has remained moderate.
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Market Situation
★ Open market wheat prices are currently hovering near multi-year lows.
★ Private trade is reported to be holding comfortable stock levels.
★ Adequate wheat availability has also been displayed on the government portal.
★ Active participation in procurement has been limited to only a few states.
★ In such a scenario, questions are being raised about the necessity of additional sales under OMSS when market supplies are already sufficient and prices remain under pressure.
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Questions Over Stock Limit
★ The government has withdrawn the wheat stock limit earlier this week. However, market availability was already comfortable, and official data indicated that stocks were higher than last year.
★ This raises questions regarding the policy objective behind first imposing and then removing the stock limit. If there was no real supply stress, measures such as stock limits may have contributed to uncertainty in the trade.
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Policy Interventions and Market Impact
★ Frequent interventions in the wheat market tend to create operational challenges for trade participants. When central pool stocks are adequate, private market availability is comfortable, prices are at lower levels, OMSS sales are ongoing, and wheat exports remain restricted, discussions have also emerged on whether mandatory weekly stock reporting every Friday is still necessary.
★ Overall, market participants believe that policy stability and clear signals are most important under the current circumstances.