The government on Thursday cut in half the maximum amount of wheat that traders, wholesalers, large retailers, and processors could store in stock while extending the restrictions until March 31, 2024, in an effort to increase wheat supplies and discourage hoarding. Up until the end of the current fiscal year, stock holding limits for wheat were implemented in June of last year.
A statement from the food ministry states that the 1,000 tonne stock holding limit for dealers and wholesalers has been lowered to 500 tonne. The wheat stock limit for large chain stores has been lowered from 1,000 tons to 500 tons at each of their depots. Additionally, the ministry requested that wheat dealers update their stock holdings with it on a weekly basis.
The company sold 3.3 MT of wheat on the open market in 2022–2023 under OMSS. 8.1 MT of wheat were sold in the largest quantity to bulk customers, such as flour millers, in 2018–19. In comparison to the buffer of 7.46 MT for April 1, the wheat stock with FCI on Wednesday was 12.79 MT, the lowest since 2016. By April 1, after 10 MT of wheat were offloaded in the market, the government stock is probably going to be nearly at buffer level.
Previously, the company had only sold excess wheat to large purchasers, such as flour millers, during the lean season (January through March). Beginning in the middle of March, new harvests for the current rabi marketing season (2024–25) begin to arrive in markets throughout the major producing states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The procurement of wheat for the April–June 2024–25 selling season would start on April 1. For the 2023–24 crop year (July–June), the government has set a record 114 MT of wheat production
