Government to Release 2.5 Million Tonnes of Wheat in Open Market to Stabilize Prices
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New Delhi, Nov 28 (NationPress) The government has announced that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will release 2.5 million metric tonnes of wheat as part of the Open Market Sales Scheme 2024 to help stabilize prices in the market, according to a statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on Thursday.
The wheat will be made available for purchase in the open market through E-auction to flour mills, manufacturers of wheat products, processors, and end users, as per the official announcement.
“To address the rising inflation in the food economy, the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, under its OMSS(D) policy for 2024, has set a reserve price of Rs 2,325 per quintal for wheat (FAQ) and Rs. 2300 per quintal for wheat (URS) from all crops including the rabi marketing season 2024-25 until March 31, 2025, for sales to private entities via e-auction,” the official statement elaborated.
The government is actively implementing various measures to lower the prices of food items as the inflation rate based on consumer prices has surged.
Additionally, the government is distributing atta and rice to consumers at subsidized rates under the Bharat brand to help control inflation.
To intervene directly in the retail sector, the government has also converted part of the pulse stock from the buffer into dals for retail sale to consumers at affordable rates under the Bharat Dal brand.
Retail prices of Tur and Urad have either decreased or remained stable over the past three months alongside a drop in wholesale mandi prices, as reported by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, B.L. Verma, during a Lok Sabha session on Wednesday.
The Department of Consumer Affairs also conducts regular meetings with the Retailers’ Association of India (RAI) and organized retail chains to discuss trends in mandi and retail prices of pulses to ensure that retailers maintain reasonable retail margins, the minister added.
The condition of Kharif crops appears promising, with harvesting completed for short-duration crops such as Moong and Urad, while harvesting of the Tur crop has just begun. Favorable weather conditions have also aided the crop, ensuring a smooth supply chain to consumers, which is anticipated to help moderate pulse prices, he further stated.
