New Delhi. Due to government pressure, there was a softening environment in the prices of wheat for some time, but due to less supply in the markets and some interest shown by flour millers / processors in buying at lower prices, its price improved by Rs 50-100 per quintal during the week of July 12-18.

During the week under review, the price of wheat in Delhi improved by Rs 10 to Rs 2770/2775 per quintal and in Indore it increased by Rs 100 to Rs 2450/3200 per quintal. Ujjain also witnessed a rise of Rs 50 while in Itarsi the prices improved by Rs 70 to Rs 2560/2600 per quintal.

In Kota and Bundi of Rajasthan, the price of wheat improved by Rs 50 and Rs 60 to reach Rs 2500/2650 per quintal and Rs 2480/2550 per quintal respectively. In the mandis of Uttar Pradesh, the price of wheat increased by Rs 30/40 per quintal while in Jalna of Maharashtra its price jumped by Rs 170 to reach Rs 2520/2750 per quintal.

Although the government has not yet started unloading its stock of wheat under the open market sale scheme, it has made full preparations for it. The Indian price of wheat has also been fixed at Rs 2550 per quintal + transportation cost and this scheme can be started anytime if the need is felt. Government wheat is made available only to flour millers/processors and traders are not allowed to participate in the weekly e-auction. Storage limits on wheat are already in place so there is little chance of a sharp rise in the mandis. The government has a surplus stock of 55-60 lakh tonnes of wheat which can be sold. Although there has been a murmur of rise and strength in the price of wheat in the domestic mandis, it will be necessary to see whether this trend continues in the coming weeks or not.