Mill owners ask govt to ensure steady wheat supply to keep prices in check

The country has enough wheat in stocks and it is monitoring supplies, the government assures mill owners.

Mill owners on Thursday asked the government to ensure a steady supply of wheat to protect the Indian consumer, holding a "very free and frank discussion” with civil servants at a meeting.

There was no official communication about the meeting from either side, but sources said the government assured flour mill owners the country has enough wheat in stocks and there is no need to panic.

“It was a very free and frank discussion, without any prejudice and strings attached and we (flour millers) clearly explained our concerns on the availability of wheat and the price that it is being purchased,” a senior industry official who participated in the meeting told 'Business Standard'.

He said that the government assured regular meetings will mill owners and continuous assessment the situation.

“There is wheat in the country but it needs to be accessed,” the official said.

Wheat flour prices in the local markets have flared up in the last few weeks due to shortage of the food grain. Wheat production and procurement both have dropped considerably this year due to sudden rise in temperature and sharp increase in export demand for Indian wheat in the world markets.

According to media reports, India's monthly average retail price of wheat flour (atta) was Rs 32.38 per kg in April, the highest since January 2010, the earliest month for which data are available.

India’s wheat production in 2022-23 marketing is expected to fall by almost 5.7 per cent to 105 million tonnes from an earlier estimate of 111.32 million tonnes and official purchases are set to halve to just 19.5 million tonnes due to strong demand from private traders.

After assessing the falling inventories, the Central government a few weeks back decided to allocate 5.5 million tonnes of rice in place of wheat to states for distribution under the government's free ration scheme PMGKAY for five months starting from May.

“This will immediately free up around 5.5 million tonnes of wheat which can then be used to build up the stocks,” a senior official had said a few weeks back.

The Centre has launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to provide free foodgrains to over 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act as part of its efforts to reduce the hardships of people during the coronavirus pandemic.