Wheat procurement season is coming to an end - price will be monitored

25-Jun-2024 11:42 AM

New Delhi. However, government procurement of wheat has already ended while the procurement season will also formally end on June 30. Despite big claims and huge targets, government procurement of wheat could increase by only 3-4 lakh tonnes compared to last year.

There was no strong supply of wheat in domestic markets and government procurement centers. Due to this, the possibility of softening of prices also diminished.

The government purchased a little more than 262 lakh tonnes of wheat at the rate of Rs 2275 per quintal. The Food Ministry says that it has sufficient stock of wheat available. But despite this,

it imposed storage limits on wheat. If the ministry has sufficient stock, then it should start auction sale of wheat under the open market sale scheme so that millers-processors do not feel the lack of raw material to continue their activities.

The price of wheat is running higher than the government support price in important wholesale markets of all major producing states.

The government feels that this time traders-stockists and flour millers/processors have bought wheat in large quantities from farmers and they have a good stock of it. But this does not seem to be completely true because flour millers are demanding government wheat or are requesting permission to import it duty-free from foreign countries.

If the price of wheat is so high in May-June, how high will it be in the off season. The government probably wants to save wheat stock for the off season.