The government has decided to offload 25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat under the Open Market Sales Scheme (Domestic) (OMSS-D) 2024, a move that is aimed at moderating wheat prices in the open market.
The ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution has directed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to offload 25 LMT of wheat and conduct the sale via e-auctions, targeting flour mills, manufacturers of wheat products, processors, and other end users, a government release said on Thursday.
The move comes amidst rising concerns over inflationary pressures in the food economy, particularly with wheat prices remaining high in retail markets.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution has introduced a revised OMSS(D) policy for 2024, setting a reserve price of ₹2,325 per quintal for fair average quality (FAQ) wheat and ₹2,300 per quintal for under relaxed specifications (URS) wheat, it said. These rates will remain effective for all wheat crops, including rabi marketing season (RMS) 2024-25, until 31 March 2025.
With food inflation emerging as a critical challenge, the government’s decision aims to curb speculative price hikes and improve availability for key stakeholders in the wheat value chain. By directly offloading wheat to private buyers, the government seeks to increase supply in the open market, which could help stabilise prices during the peak demand season.
Retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) hit 6.21% in October, statistics ministry data showed. This is the highest since 6.83% in August 2023 and compares to 5.49% in September.
Record production in sight
As per the agriculture ministry estimates, India is set to achieve a record foodgrain production of 332.29 million tonnes (mt) in the 2023-24 July-to-June agricultural year.
This represents an increase of 2.61 mt from the previous year’s total of 329.68 mt. The growth has been attributed to favourable production in key categories such as rice, wheat and millets.
Wheat production reached a new high at 113.29 mt—2.74 mt higher (or 2.48%) than the 110.55 mt produced in 2022-23, the agriculture ministry data showed.
In August, the Centre allowed states and Union territories with insufficient grain production to purchase rice directly from the FCI at lower rates, bypassing the e-auction process.
The government has also on 5 November launched the second phase of Bharat brand of atta and rice with an increased allocation of the staples and pricing them at a maximum retail price of ₹30 per kg for atta as compared to ₹27.5 per kg in the first phase and ₹34 per kg for rice ( ₹29 per kg in the first phase) in an effort to tame the spiralling food inflation.
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