Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sold 18.05 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in the open market through three e-auctions after the Government of India decided on 25th January 2023 to augment wheat supply in the market by selling 30 lakh MT for cooling down sharply rising prices of wheat and Atta that adversely affected consumers across the country. It may be noted that about 11 lakh MT wheat has already been lifted by successful bidders which is available in the market, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement today.
The initiatives of the Central government have led to cooling off the rising prices of wheat and Atta in the markets throughout the country.
Pertinently, Government of India remains committed to safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders and has been reducing the reserve prices after the feedback received from various parts of the country. Roller Flour Millers and traders during an interaction have assured that the benefit of the subsidised sale of wheat under the Open Market Sales Scheme (Domestic) i.e. OMSS (D) shall be adequately passed on to consumers.
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Notably, FCI sold 5.07 lakh MT wheat in its third e-auction to 1269 bidders at a weighted average price of Rs. 2172 per quintal through 620 locations in 23 states. In the third auction, FCI offered 11.79 lakh MT wheat on 22nd February 2023 for sale in the open market at reserve prices of Rs. 2150 per quintal and Rs 2125 per quintal for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) and Under Relaxed Specifications (URS) quality wheat respectively, the ministry said.
Open sale of wheat through e-auctions shall take place every Wednesday till 15th March 2023 in an effort to augment wheat availability and safeguard the interests of consumers.
The first auction was conducted on 1st and 2nd February 2023 in which 9.13 lakh MT was sold to 1016 bidders at a weighted average price of Rs. 2474 per quintal. Similarly, 3.85 lakh MT was sold in the second auction on 15th February 2023 to 1060 bidders at a weighted average price of Rs. 2338 per quintal. Maximum number of bidders bought wheat in the range of 100 MT to 500 MT showing the active participation and interest of small and medium traders and millers to contain the rising wheat and Atta prices, the statement reads.
