Prices of Dara and Desi wheat varieties dropped by Rs 10-30 a quintal on Friday.
Easy availability of stock coupled with reduced offtake pulled wheat prices down, said Sewa Ram, a wheat trader. Apart from fresh arrivals from Uttar Pradesh, stock meant for the Below Poverty Line-cardholders is also coming into the open market for sale, he added. Flour mills were procuring stocks from the Food Corporation of India too but mills may avoid buying from the nodal agency as it has hiked the prices for the bulk buyers, said market experts. Earlier FCI was giving stock at a base price of Rs 1,170 a quintal but now the rate has been increased to Rs 1,285 , which was also the minimum support price for the marketing year 2012-13, said experts.
In the physical market, dara prices decreased by Rs 10 a quintal and quoted between Rs 1,240-1,250 . Around 50 tonnes of dara variety arrived from Uttar Pradesh and the stocks were directly offloaded at the mills. Mill delivery was at Rs 1,240-1,245 while delivery at the chakki was at Rs 1,250 .
Similarly, desi wheat varieties went down by Rs 15-30 a quintal. Tohfa eased by Rs 20 and sold at Rs 1,980; Bhojan King down by Rs 30 to Rs 2,070, while the Nokia variety traded at 2,005 (down Rs 15).
On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, wheat for August delivery decreased by Rs 10, to Rs 1,403 a quintal. September contracts went down by Rs 8 to Rs 1,442. Spot prices on the exchangedecreased by Rs 10 to Rs 1,340 a quintal.
Flour Prices
Flour went up by Rs 10 and quoted at Rs 1,235-1,240 for a 90-kg bag. Similarly, Chokar too increased by Rs 20 and sold at Rs 670 for a 49-kg bag.