FCI sold 18 lakh tonne wheat at auctions to contain prices

Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sold 18.05 lakh tonne of wheat in open market after the government decided to augment the supply of foodgrain in the markets to contain the rising wheat and wheat flour prices. Of the sold wheat at three auctions that were held so far, about 11 lakh tonne of wheat has already been lifted by successful bidders which is available in the market.

On January 25, the government announced its agency FCI would offload 30 lakh tonnes of wheat from the central pool in the markets under the Open Market Sale Scheme, within the next two months, to contain the rising domestic prices of the staple foodgrain. The commencement of the e-auction of wheat in the open market to cool the staple food grain's prices has already left an impact as the government said the prices retreated over 10 per cent in the past week.

Wheat, a rabi crop in an advanced maturing stage, is expected to hit mandis in the next few weeks. "Rigorous initiatives of the Centre government has led to cooling off the rising prices of wheat and Atta in the markets throughout the country," the government said in a release.

Open sale of wheat through e-Auction shall take place every Wednesday till March 15, 2023, in an effort to augment wheat availability and safeguard the interests of consumers. Retail inflation in India again breached RBI's upper tolerance band in the month of January 2023, with the Consumer Price Index pegged at 6.52 per cent. Among groups, cereals and products - including wheat and its derivatives, contributed to the elevation in retail inflation in January.