Wheat

The government on Wednesday further tightened wheat stock holding norms for wholesalers, small and big chain retailers, and processors to curb hoarding and check price rise. "As part of continuous efforts to moderate prices of wheat, the central government has decided to revise the wheat stock limit applicable until 31st March 2025," the food ministry said in a statement. According to the revised norms, wholesalers are now allowed to maintain wheat stock up to 1,000 tonne instead of 2,000 tonne, retailer can hold 5 tonne for each outlet instead of 10 tonne, while big chain retailer can hold 5 tonne for each outlet instead of 10 tonne earlier. Processors will be allowed to maintain 50 per cent instead of 60 per cent of their monthly installed capacity multiplied by the remaining months till April 2025. The stock limits on wheat were first imposed on June 24 and later revised to tighten the norms on September 9 in order to manage the overall food security and to prevent hoarding and

Mustard acreage was down as farmers seem to be shifting towards other crops due to better returns

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, has introduced eight new high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of wheat, rice and oilseeds, it said on Friday. Developed using radiation-based mutation breeding techniques, these non-GMO crop varieties are set to "revolutionise" agriculture across India, the BARC said in a statement here. The new varieties -- five cereals and three oilseeds -- are tailored to diverse agricultural conditions and were launched in collaboration with state agricultural universities. Speaking at the launch, Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, highlighted BARC's significant contribution in enhancing farmer incomes and boosting food and nutritional security. Vivek Bhasin, Director, BARC, called these varieties a "boon for farmers" due to their early maturity, disease resistance, climate resilience, salt tolerance, and higher yields compared to existing options. India's

The government on Thursday announced the sale of 25 lakh tonne of FCI wheat till March 2025 to bulk domestic consumers to check the "inflationary trend in the food economy". Wheat will be sold under the government's Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) initiative, managed by the state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) to regulate the supply and prices. The nodal Food Ministry, in a statement, said a reserve price for wheat under OMSS is fixed at Rs 2,325 per quintal for fair and average quality (FAQ) grain and Rs 2,300 per quintal for URS (Under Reduced Specifications) grain. Wheat will be sold until March 31, 2025, through e-auction to private parties, including flour mills, manufacturers of wheat products, processors and end users. However, the government did not reveal the date of commencement of the FCI wheat sale to bulk users. Last year, FCI sold more than 10 lakh tonne of wheat to bulk users under the OMSS.

Some farmers in exporting nations, such as Australia and Canada, are holding back sales in anticipation that prices will climb even higher

But the curbs failed to bring down prices, which were trading at 28,416 rupees ($339.53) per metric ton in New Delhi, up from 24,000 rupees in April

Last year the government started selling wheat from its reserves in June, and between June 2023 and March 2024 it sold a record amount of nearly 10 million metric tons from stocks

Last year, FCI began selling wheat to private players in June. It sold a little more than 10 million metric tons in the fiscal year to March 2024, a record sale from state reserves

The government on Thursday said it will undertake suitable policy interventions to ensure stability in wheat prices for consumers in the country. After a meeting of the committee of ministers chaired by Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, the government said it has directed officials to keep a close watch on wheat prices. Prices of wheat and wheat flour have increased by up to Rs 2 per kg from a year ago, according to the official data. As of June 20, the average retail price of wheat stood at Rs 30.99 per kg, up from Rs 28.95 a year ago, while wheat flour price rose to Rs 36.13 per kilogram as against Rs 34.29 per kg last year, the data showed. The ministers discussed the position of wheat stocks and prices in detail during the meeting. In a statement, the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry said, "The Union Minister directed that a close watch may be kept on the prices of wheat and suitable policy interventions to be undertaken to ensure price stability for the consu

India has sufficient wheat stocks to meet domestic requirements and undertake market interventions, if required, to keep prices stable, the government said on Thursday, adding that it has no plans to alter the import duty on the grain for now. The Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, is closely monitoring the market price of wheat, it said in a statement. "Suitable interventions, as warranted, shall be undertaken to ensure that there is no hoarding by unscrupulous elements and the price remains stable," the statement said. During the 2024 rabi marketing season, the department reported wheat production of 112 million tonnes. The state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured around 26.6 million tonnes of the grain until June 11. After meeting the requirement for the public distribution system and other welfare schemes, estimated at around 18.4 million tonnes, sufficient wheat stock will be available

As the new-season wheat harvest rolls in, the government is likely to wait until after June to scrap the import tax, in time for Russia's harvest, the sources said

At the start of the month wheat reserves in state stores totalled 26 million metric tons, down from 29 million metric tons in May 2023, according to the state-run Food Corporation of India

The government has bought over 196 lakh tonne of wheat so far in the ongoing 2024-25 marketing year, surpassing its annual requirement of 186 lakh tonne for all welfare schemes including the National Food Security Act. Now, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) -- the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains -- is making efforts to meet its target of buying 310-320 lakh tonne in the 2024-25 marketing year to augment buffer stocks and keep surplus grains for making intervention in the open market, if needed, to control retail prices. Procurement of wheat, a major rabi (winter-sown) crop, is down 11 per cent so far from 219.5 lakh tonne in the same period last year. This is mainly due to lower purchases in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. "Government's procurement is going on smoothly, Till now, we have procured 196 lakh tonne whereas the annual requirement of Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and other welfare schemes is 186 lakh tonne," FCI CMD

Flour millers' estimate of 105.79 mt differs from the govt's 2024-25 projection of wheat production at 112 mt

India, the world's biggest wheat consumer and grower after China, banned exports in 2022 and is keen to bolster stocks and tame prices that surged after dry weather hurt output in 2022 and 2023

Wheat reserves in state stores totalled 9.7 million tons at the start of this month, down from 11.7 million tons in March 2022, the state-run Food Corporation of India said

Adverse weather could limit growth in wheat production and complicate the government's efforts to build stocks

The wheat procurement season usually starts from April 1 in most parts of the country but in the coming season the government has given freedom to the states to advance the purchase dates

Global coarse grain output was pegged at an all-time high of 1.523 billion tons, following a 12-million-ton upward adjustment this month

The government on Wednesday said 71.01 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1.62 lakh tonnes of rice have been sold through auction so far in the open market to keep prices under control. "In order to increase the availability of wheat and rice in the open market and to control the prices of wheat and rice, the Government has been offloading wheat and rice in the market through weekly e-auction from June 28, 2023," an official statement said. A total of 101.5 lakh tonnes of wheat and 25 lakh tonnes of rice have been allocated by the central government for offloading under the Open Market Sale Scheme. Wheat is being offered at a reserve price of Rs 2,150 per quintal for Fair and Average Quality (FAQ) and Rs 2125 per quintal for Under Relaxed Specifications (URS). The reserve price of rice is being kept at Rs 2,900 per quintal. Till January 24, 2024, 71.01 LMT wheat has been sold under OMSS. The first e-auction of rice under OMSS for 2023-24 was held on July 5, 2023. Till January 24, 2024, 1.62