Indian flour mills buy 1.41 lakh tonnes of wheat in FCI’s open market sale this week
The government’s open market auction saw a 94% offtake of wheat this week, with the offer raised by 50% to 1.5 lakh tonnes. However, bid prices exceeded ₹3,000/quintal in 13 States, indicating the need for more supplies before procurement starts in April at ₹2,425/quintal. A technical glitch in Karnataka delayed some payments, but other states saw high offtake rates. A meeting with five State Food Ministers focused on improving procurement mechanisms for 2025-26.
The offtake of wheat in the Government’s open market auction through the Food Corporation of India was 94 per cent this week after the weekly offer was raised by 50 per cent to 1.5 lakh tonnes (lt). However, the top bid prices in 13 States were above ₹3,000/quintal, an indication that more supplies may be needed to help cool prices before procurement starts from April at minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,425/quintal. The e-auction conducted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) on January 15 resulted in about 875 bidders buying over 1.41 lt at a weighted average rate of ₹2,696/quintal. States such as Assam, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, N-E States (excluding Assam), Jammu & Kashmir and Telangana witnessed 99-100 per cent lifting of the offered quantity.
Tech glitch in Karnataka
States like Karnataka, which reported 82 per cent offtake out of 7,000 tonnes offered for sale, reported a technical glitch because of which some millers/processors could not upload their earnest money deposit (EMD) payment on time. “Next week 100 per cent offtake is likely as there is no supply,” said a flour miller, adding the highest bid price was ₹2,908/quintal.
On the other hand, Punjab saw over 91 per cent off take out of 24,000 tonnes of wheat offered for sale, raising from 14,500 tonnes from the previous week. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh saw 92 per cent offtake out of 19,000 tonnes of wheat offered for sale, raised from 15,000 tonnes the previous week. Bihar reported 94 per cent offtake out of 10,000 tonnes offered. Earlier, the offered quantity was 7,000 tonnes in Bihar.
“Releasing additional wheat quantity under OMSS is a welcome move, as it will help moderate prices to some extent. The market is totally dry and fresh crop is still 8-10 weeks away. But more quantity needs to be released as prices have already gone to record high which pose a major threat to wheat procurement at MSP,” said Veena Sharma, former secretary of Roller Flour Millers’ Federation of India.
Meet with 5 State Food Ministers
In this week’s e-auction, the highest bid prices were in the range of ₹2,570/quintal (in Chhattisgarh) and ₹3,308 (in Assam). The lowest bid prices were in the range of ₹2,300 (in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab) and ₹2,636 (in Odisha). Meanwhile, the Centre on January 15 had held a virtual meeting with Food Ministers of five wheat-producing States — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan — to review preparedness for official arrangement during 2025-26 procurement period (April-June). The meeting focused on strengthening wheat procurement mechanisms to ensure substantial contributions to the central pool in these five States which have significant potential and are also crucial for the Centre.
The government has outlined some action points, including setting district-wise targets, expanding procurement centres to remote areas, ensuring timely payment to farmers, and maintaining stock quality standards. The Centre has asked these five States to procure at least the quantity required under public distribution system in their respective state. Last year, the Centre had purchased 266.05 lt of wheat, in which these five States had a combined share of 26 per cent. The government had set a target to buy 162.1 lt from these States in 2024, out of which it could buy nearly 70 lt, which is about 43 per cent of the target.
To read more about Wheat News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : The Hindu Business line
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
