FCI sales check wheat price rise as 1.66 lakh tonnes sold at ₹2,151-2,170/quintal in latest e-auction

Posted on by

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sold 1.66 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat and 17,000 tonnes of rice in the 11th round of e-auction last week under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) , which was announced by the government in June to control retail prices.

During the 11th e-auction held on September 6, a total of 2 lt of wheat from 500 depots and 4.89 lt of rice from 337 depots were offered from across the country, the Food Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The weighted average selling price was ₹2,169.65 per quintal for FAQ (fair and average quality) wheat against the reserve price of ₹2,150 pan-India, and the weighted average selling price of URS (Under Relaxed Specifications) wheat was ₹2,150.86 against its reserve price of ₹2,125, the ministry said.

Wholesale prices flat

In case of rice, the weighted average selling price was ₹2,956.19 per quintal against the reserve price of ₹2,952.27l, it said.

The government also said the all-India average retail price of wheat remained flat at ₹30/kg and atta (wheat flour) ₹35.62 per kg on September 10 compared with ₹30.39 for wheat and ₹35.72 for atta in the year-ago period. But the retail price of rice is higher at ₹42.26/kg on September 10 against ₹37.44 in the year-ago period.

In August, the government announced to offload additional 50 lt of wheat and 25 lt of rice from the central pool in the open market to bulk buyer to contain cereal prices.