Reduction in Wheat Sale Quantity under OMSS

New Delhi. In the first e-auction conducted under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) for the current financial year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) offered 1.06 lakh tonnes of wheat for sale, of which 82 percent was purchased by millers and processors. However, the quantity offered for sale has now been reduced by 5,000 tonnes to 1.01 lakh tonnes. Interestingly, even though the all-India average wholesale market (*mandi*) price for wheat in June stood at Rs 2,910 per quintal, millers and processors in several states purchased government wheat at a higher price of Rs 3,100 per quintal; yet, the FCI has chosen to decrease the volume offered for sale.

According to industry observers, flour millers and processors have suggested that the government should consistently increase the quantity of wheat offered in the weekly e-auctions. This is because the supply situation in open markets is becoming increasingly difficult, and the reliance of millers on government-held wheat stocks is expected to continue growing.

The Roller Flour Millers Federation of India, a leading industry body, has noted that wheat arrivals in the *mandis* have fallen short of expectations, driving millers to seek larger quantities of government wheat. Instead of reducing the sale volume, the FCI should aim to increase it. With the next wheat harvest not due until March-April, and given that millers, traders, and farmers currently lack sufficient stocks, the government needs to address this issue.