No need for wheat open market sale as supplies comfortable: Food Secretary

The edible oil companies should promptly pass on the benefits of reduced import duties to the consumers, says Food Minister Prahland Joshi

Clearing the air, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Thursday said that the government doesn’t intend to intervene and sell wheat from its strategic reserve under the open market intervention scheme as supplies were adequate and prices stable.

 

Chopra’s comments have come amid speculation that the open market sales might restart to cool down retail price of wheat which has risen by over 5 per cent over the last one month amid the end of wheat procurement season.

 

The government operates the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to regulate wheat supply and prices by selling surplus stocks from the central pool -- managed by Food Corporation of India (FCI) -- directly to the market at present reserve prices.

   

“Adequate stocks are there. We have procured very healthy quantities, so have all the private players. So there is adequate supply in the market. OMSS is meant for stabilising the prices, the prices are already stable. So then there is no need of (wheat OMSS),” Chopra told reporters on the sidelines of an Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) Global roundtable.

 

India sold about 3 million tonnes of wheat under OMSS during the financial year 2024-25, compared with about 10.1 million tonnes in 2023-24.

 

Chopra also said that the government will soon implement the draft order that made it mandatory for all vegetable oil expellers, processors and producers to register in a centrally mandated portal. He said that existing technologies in oilseeds offer substantial opportunities to boost yields and newly developed Indian varieties demonstrate genetic potential on par with top-performing countries globally. 

 

The country’s wheat production is estimated at a record 117.5 million tonnes in 2024-25 crop year.

 

On sale of rice through OMSS, Chopra said the government is undertaking a sale of 50 lakh tonne, reducing broken rice from 25 per cent to 10 per cent in 4-5 states including Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

 

The aim is to sell 15 per cent of 100 per cent broken rice to distilleries and others, the balanced rice with 10 per cent broken auctioned to private traders.

 

“This sale is for the domestic market. Mills are ready to segregate 15 per cent broken rice… the response has been good so far,” he said, exuding confidence of easily achieving the sale target.

 

Broken rice will be auctioned from the mill point to avoid transport, storage and fortification, he said and added it will be a “win-win” situation for both.

 

Currently, broken rice is being sold to private players and “maybe in the next phase we will take up the Public Distribution System (PDS).” Selecting a particular area for PDS sale of 10 per cent broken rice is not feasible right now.

 

“When we do it, we will do it in the entire country,” he added.

 

A pilot of 40,000 tonnes was undertaken successfully before permitting 50 lakh tonnes of rice sale via OMSS.

 

On sugar exports, Chopra said India has already exported 8 lakh tonnes of the sweetener so far in the 2024-25 season (October-September).

 

The government allowed sugar exports starting January 20, 2025, with a total export quota of 10 lakh tonnes for the season. Chopra also said it is too early to decide on export quota for next season.

 

Meanwhile, Food Minister Prahland Joshi, in his address in the same conference, said that the edible oil companies should promptly pass on the benefits of reduced import duties to the consumers.