homeeconomy NewsFCI to again commence open market sale of wheat to curb prices, says the option of import duty cut is open
FCI to again commence open market sale of wheat to curb prices, says the option of import duty cut is open
Citing food inflation beyond 6 percent as unacceptable as per RBI's MPC's minutes, FCI's CMD Ashok Kumar Meena said that up to 15 LMT open market sale operations can be conducted as per the government's current order.
Rising food grain prices in the retail market have prompted the government to again start open market sales of wheat and rice to cool rising prices.
Food Corporation of India (FCI)'s CMD Ashok Kumar Meena said that up to 15 LMT open market sale operations can be conducted as per the government's current order as he cited food inflation beyond six percent as unacceptable as per RBI's MPC's minutes.
FCI is slated to commence the first round of e-auctions for 4 LMT wheat from 28th June and for 5 LMT rice from 5th July. Stating that 87 LMT wheat and 292 LMT rice are available for future interventions with the FCI beyond the buffer requirements laid down as per law, Meena indicated that all options remain open to curbing prices, including the possibility of an import duty cut.
While the base price of wheat has been kept at the previous level of Rs. 2,150 per quintal for FAQ and Rs. 2,125 per quintal for URS wheat, the base price of rice has been kept at Rs. 3,100 per quintal.
A valid FSSAI licence and a declaration in the Wheat Stock Monitoring System portal have been mandated for participation in the auction in order to control the hoarding of wheat. The maximum quantity that a buyer can bid for is limited to 100 MT in this e-auction while the minimum quantity has been kept at 10 MT.
To accommodate the small and marginal traders and processors of wheat, the EMD for participation in the e-auctions has been reduced by 50 percent from the earlier levels.
The bidding has been limited to the local buyers by ensuring that the GST registration of the State is mapped and checked before stocks are released. FCI said that these measures are being taken to ensure a wider local reach for the stocks offered in a particular state.
Suspended due to the rabi procurement period, the government had earlier engaged in market intervention via six weekly e-auctions of wheat till 15th March, where FCI data revealed that 33.7 LMT wheat was offloaded, and retail prices came down by 19 percent within 45 days.
(Edited by : Sangam Singh)
First Published: Jun 23, 2023 7:44 PM IST
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