UP wheat procurement hit as FCI starts open market sale at higher price

UP's wheat procurement target of 5.5 million tonnes likely to fall short by 25% at 4 MT

The decision of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to sell 10 million tonnes (MT) of wheat to bulk consumers under the open market sale (OMS) scheme this fiscal has hit wheat procurement in Uttar Pradesh, which is unlikely to meet its target of procuring 5.5 MT of the food grain in the current rabi marketing season.

“The OMS scheme has impacted wheat procurement in UP, since wheat-based industries are buying directly from the farmers as the minimum support price (MSP) in UP is much lower at Rs 1,840 per quintal against the OMS base price (Rs 2,080 per quintal),” a