The government said on Thursday that, as part of its efforts to control retail prices by dumping food grains on the open market, it has sold 2.84 lakh tons of wheat and 5,830 tons of rice from its buffer stock to 2,334 bidders through an electronic auction. 3 lakh tons of wheat and 1.79 lakh tons of rice were offered under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) Domestic at the 21st e-auction, which took place on November 15, according to an official statement from the food ministry.
According to the government, 2,334 bidders purchased 2,84 lakh tons of wheat and 5,830 tons of rice. The government holds weekly online auctions for both wheat and rice as part of its central government initiative to intervene in the market and control the retail pricing of these three commodities: rice, wheat, and atta. Wheat is being offloaded from its buffer stock under OMSS by the Food Corporation of India, the government’s designated agency for the acquisition and distribution of food grains.
According to the ministry, wheat classified as Fair Average Quality (FAQ) sold for an average weighted selling price of Rs 2,246.86 per quintal, while wheat classified as Under Relaxed Specification (URS) sold for an average weighted selling price of Rs 2,232.35 per quintal, against a reserve price of Rs 2,125 per quintal throughout India.
In addition, the ministry announced that 2.5 lakh tons of wheat have been given to cooperative and semi-government organizations like Kendriya Bhandar, NCCF, and NAFED under OMSS (D) for the purpose of turning the grain into Atta and selling it to the general public under the ‘Bharat Atta’ brand for a Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of no more than Rs 27.50 per kilograme.
These three cooperative organizations have lifted 15,337 tons of wheat so far this year, November 14th, to be further processed into Atta. Under OMSS (D), traders are excluded from the wheat sale’s scope. Additionally, as of November 14, 1,917 arbitrary inspections were conducted nationwide to prevent stock hoarding.
