Govt raises bid quantity to 200 tonne under OMSS wheat to stabilise prices

The government on Friday increased the bid quantity under the open market sale scheme for wheat offered from the central pool to 200 tonne with effect from November 1 as part of efforts to further stabilise prices of wheat and wheat flour.

To boost supply of wheat in the domestic market, bulk buyers like flour millers, and small traders can now bid for 200 tonnes in e-auction as against 100 tonnes currently under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).

Food Corporation of India, the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, is offloading wheat from its buffer stock under the OMSS.

Consequently, the total quantity offered per e-auction across the country has also been increased from 2 lakh tonne to 3 lakh tonne, the statement said.

The increase in the bid quantity is aimed at enhancing the availability of wheat in the open market and to further stabilise the prices of wheat, it said.

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) is selling wheat and rice from the central pool to bulk buyers such as flour millers and small traders under the OMSS since June 28 through a weekly e-auction to control the retail prices of these commodities.

In the 18th round of e-auction on October 26, about 1.92 lakh tonne of wheat was sold to 2,318 successful bidders.

About 2.01 lakh tonne of wheat were offered for sale from 444 depots across the country. As many as 2,763 empanelled buyers participated in the e-auction.

The weighted average selling price was Rs 2,251.57 per quintal for fair and average quality wheat, as against the reserve price of Rs 2,150 per quintal.

The weighted average selling price of under relaxed specification wheat was Rs 2,317.85 per quintal as against the reserve price of Rs 2,125 per quintal.

The ministry said traders are kept out of the ambit of wheat sale under OMSS to avoid hoarding of stocks.

Regular checks and inspections are also being made at the flour mills of the processors who have purchased wheat under OMSS, the statement said, adding that 1627 checks were undertaken till October 16.