After a reduction in reserve prices of wheat by ₹2/kg, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was able to lower the selling price by ₹1.70/kg during the third round of e-auction on Wednesday. As much as 5.07 lakh tonnes (lt) were sold . The continuous fall in the selling price will soon be reflected in the retail market, government said.

The all-India weighted average selling price was ₹2,172.08/quintal in the third round of e-auction in which FCI is expected to receive ₹1,086.1 crore, the Food Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

As many as 1,269 bidders participated in the third round, which is an improvement as 1,060 traders/millers participated in the second round and 1,150 bidders in the first round. The weighted average selling price in the second round was ₹2,338.01/quintal and in the first round ₹2,474/quintal.

Out of the total quantity sold, 1.39 lt got sold in three major producing States —Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh — where the weighted average selling price was lower at ₹2,148.32/quintal. In the remaining parts of the country , as much as 3.68 lt wheat was sold at an average ₹2,181.08/quintal.

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In Visavadar mandi in Junagadh district, Gujarat, which is the top State in terms of arrivals of the fresh wheat crop, prices of Lokwan variety (an equivalent of MP’s Sharbati) dropped to ₹2,215/quintal on February 22 from ₹2,630/quintal on February 1, Agmarknet data show.

“Lokwan is a good quality variety preferred by consumers and when arrivals of mill quality wheat starts, prices may be lower by around ₹200/quintal,” said Navneet Chitlangia, senior Vice-President of Roller Flour Millers’ Federation of India. He said the durum variety has started arriving in Betul, Khandwa and adjoining places while the Sharbati will take another fortnight to be available in mandis.

In Rajasthan, wheat arrival is expected to start after 20 days and the inflow will improve from April whereas in Punjab and Haryana the arrivals will commence after Baisakhi.

Good condition

FCI’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Meena on Thursday said the wheat crop is in good condition and the government’s procurement would be “normal” at 300-400 lt in the 2023-24 marketing season starting April. The Food Ministry has convened a meeting of State food secretaries on March 1 to fix the procurement target.

He said the ongoing sale of wheat has started cooling down wholesale prices and a similar impact would be visible on retail prices in a week. In the first three rounds of e-auction, the agency sold 18.05 lt of wheat, out of which 11 lt has already been lifted by the successful bidders, he said. The next round of e-auctions will be held on March 1.

Highlighting that maximum bidders had quoted for 100-500 tonnes against a cap of 3,000 tonnes per bidder in each auction, Meena said small wholesale buyers cannot hoard as they have to process and dispose of the wheat immediately.

As of April 1, wheat stocks with FCI are likely to be 113 lt, and even if the entire 50 lt under OMSS is sold, the opening stock would be 93 lt, he said. The buffer norm as on April 1 is 75 lt.

Meanwhile, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Director A K Singh on Thursday said there is no reason to worry about the temperature forecast, so far. Even though February has been warmer, no adverse impact is expected on wheat as the crop remains in the anthesis to flowering stages during this period, he said, adding there is less likelihood of terminal heat condition till mid-March. Daily mean temperature is not expected to cross 32°C, he said.

The Agriculture Ministry has estimated a record-high production of 112.18 million tonnes for the current crop year (July 2022-June 2023).

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