Wheat procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2023-24 reached 249.58 LMT on 8 May 2023. This marks a significant increase of 73 LMT compared to the same period last year (RMS 2022-23), during which 175.93 LMT was procured by May 8, 2022.
Having procured 187.92 LMT wheat in RMS 2022-23, FCI's estimated wheat procurement in RMS 2023-24 is 341.50 LMT, which the government is confident of achieving based on this year's Rabi crop.
Despite a better yield than last year, the ban on wheat exports is expected to continue for now even as the government is implementing several measures to check hoarding of stocks and the resultant panic which leads to rise in wheat prices.
On April 29, CNBC TV18 had reported that a quarterly OMS (open market sale) scheme is slated to commence for wheat after completion of this year's wheat procurement cycle.
The scheme is likely to be rolled out in June or July this year, after wheat procurement is completed by the end of May 2023. The quantity of wheat to be sold under OMS will depend on its availability and price, even as the government expects 100 LMT wheat to be available for OMS on 1st April 2024, over & above NFSA (National Food Security Act) and buffer stock requirements.
The latest OMS conducted by the FCI till March 2023 had witnessed sale of 33 LMT wheat via e-auction, where over 31 LMT wheat was bought. Last month, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra had said that despite loss of lustre in the wheat crop due to rains across India, the quantity wasn't impacted and the government was confident of meeting the wheat procurement target in RMS 2023-24.
