Claim of sufficient stock of wheat available for market intervention
20-Jun-2024 06:43 PM
New Delhi. The Central Government has said that sufficient stock of wheat is available to effectively intervene in the domestic market.
A meeting of the Committee of Ministers was held today under the chairmanship of the Union Home and Cooperation Minister to review the prices of essential commodities,
in which the stock and price of wheat were also discussed. It was told in the meeting that during the current year, till June 18, about 266 lakh tonnes of wheat was procured by the government,
which is more than the total purchase of 262 lakh tonnes last year. About 184 lakh tonnes of wheat will be required to meet the needs of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and other welfare schemes and after fulfilling this, there will be enough stock of wheat available in the central pool, which will make it possible to intervene in the market whenever and as needed.
The Home Minister said that the supply and availability of wheat and its prices should be closely monitored and appropriate policy measures should be taken to ensure that there is stability in the price of wheat and all the consumers of the country continue to get it in sufficient quantity at a reasonable price.
The Home Minister said that the supply and availability of wheat and its prices should be closely monitored and appropriate policy measures should be taken to ensure that there is stability in the price of wheat and all the consumers of the country continue to get it in sufficient quantity at a reasonable price.
It appears that the government is keeping a close watch on the price of wheat but at present it does not feel the need to start e-auction of wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).
The government has already ruled out the possibility of removal of 40 percent import duty on wheat in the near future. It is certain that the situation of supply and availability of wheat in the open market will remain complicated until its sale is started at a fixed price from the central pool.