Centre sells 0.7 mn tonne wheat to bulk users

Move to ease storage crisis in the godowns

The Centre has sold around 7,00,000 tonne wheat at subsidised rates to bulk users, a move that is likely to ease the storage crisis.

Following the nod of a ministerial panel last month for the sale of 3 million tonne wheat via the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk users, the Food Ministry had issued an order allocating 1.3 million tonne wheat for sale under the scheme in the quarter starting July.

"Out of total allocation, 0.69 million tonne of wheat has already been sold out under the scheme through two tenders," a senior Food Ministry official said.

The entire allocated quantity has already been exhausted in Punjab (0.1 million tonne), Andhra Pradesh (18,978 tonne), West Bengal (11,563 tonne),  Chattisgarh (10,823 tonne), Assam (10,186 tonne), Rajasthan (5,234 tonne) and Jharkhand (400 tonne), the official said.

"The third and fourth tender enquiries will not take place in these states," the official added.

Wheat under the scheme is being sold at Rs 1,170 per quintal, compared to the procurement price plus other costs of Rs 1,822 per quintal. The government is also bearing the freight cost.

The official further said that wheat sales were slow in Karnataka, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), which have been allocated with maximum quantity of wheat.

As much as 2.10 lakh tonne wheat has been allocated to Karnataka, 1.77 lakh tonne to Delhi and 1.64 lakh tonne to J&K for the July-September quarter.

The subsequent allocation of wheat would be made after taking into account the offtake of the grain under the scheme, the official said.

The sale of wheat under OMSS is benefiting flour millers and biscuit makers, industry experts said.

The government godowns are overflowing with record 82 million tonne foodgrains, as against the storage capacity of 64 million tonne. The stocks have risen due to record production and procurement in the last few years.