Plan to sell 10 lakh tonnes of wheat per month from October under OMSS

27-Aug-2024 01:03 PM

New Delhi. Traders, flour millers and processors who have bought wheat at high prices in anticipation of further price hikes may be shocked by the news that the Union Food Ministry has planned to sell 10 lakh tonnes of wheat every month from October 2024 to March 2025 under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).

During this six-month period, about 55 lakh tonnes of government wheat stock can be unloaded. This wheat will be sold by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) through weekly e-auction, the reserve price of which has already been determined.

It is worth mentioning that in the last financial year, from 28 June 2023 to 28 February 2024, more than 94 lakh tonnes of wheat was sold under OMSS.

Government data shows that although the wholesale and retail price of wheat increased by less than 6 per cent during July 2024 as compared to July 2023, the average purchase price of traders increased by 8 per cent.

According to official sources, this time the government has identified a stock of 55 lakh tonnes of wheat for sale under OMSS, which is much less than the stock sold during the last financial year.

In the weekly auction held in February 2024, 5 lakh tonnes of wheat was offered for sale, out of which about 95 percent was sold.

But the government feels that the demand for wheat will be relatively low this year as millers-processors and traders were very active in purchasing wheat during the Rabi marketing season between April and June.

They were confident that the price of this important food grain would remain high in the coming times.

Although the industry and trade sector does not agree with the government production figures of wheat,

it definitely believes that the domestic production of wheat improved during the 2023-24 season as compared to the 2022-23 season. However, the government procurement of wheat remained far behind the set target.