Wholesale wheat prices show no signs of cooling despite FCI selling 2 lakh tonnes past few weeks
Many food companies are buying the FCI wheat and selling it to traders as market rates are higher compared to the OMSS rates
Despite the Food Corporation of India offering 2 lakh tonnes of wheat for sale through weekly auctions, wholesale wheat prices across the country continue to rise, defying the decline seen in the auction prices. The all-India average wholesale price of wheat has been increasing every week, with notable jumps from ₹2,903/quintal on October 22 to ₹2,940 on November 12.
This discrepancy indicates that the government needs to investigate the reasons behind the rising prices and take corrective actions, including directly participating in the market. Traders attribute the price surge to the high food prices and the retail inflation breaching the 2-6 percent target range in October. They also mentioned that food companies are purchasing wheat at higher market rates and selling it to traders, while some rice mills are falsely claiming to be wheat processors.
The government is closely monitoring the market rates of both wheat and atta, while auction results show a substantial increase in participation, with large floor mills/processors and small processing units buying the grain. The fluctuating quantity offered every week, ranging from 25,000 to 44,000 tonnes, has also raised concerns among traders about the ultimate destination of the sold wheat.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
