Govt to offer surplus wheat in Punjab, Haryana for sale

1.86 million wheat lying in unscientific storage in Punjab, Haryana

The Union government has decided to sell 8.5 million tonnes of wheat through its Open Market Sales Schemes from stocks in Punjab and Haryana. It is doing so because of having far more stock than needed and in conditions susceptible to spoilage.

Buyers are to be allowed to lift directly from the godowns. All registered buyers or traders or millers anywhere in India can take the wheat directly from these two states.

The government wants to expedite the sale as wheat exposed to moisture would rot after a while. It would be sold at Rs 1,500 a quintal. Haryana has close to 10.44 mt of wheat stock, of which only 6.07 mt is in CAP (covered and plinth) storage. Punjab has 17 mt, of which 11 mt is in CAP.

  Potential buyers feel the cost is high. Vinod Bansal, vice-president of the Roller Flour Millers’ Association of Karnataka said: “We will have to pay two per cent central sale tax and arrange for railway wagons on our own; Rs 263 a quintal is the rail freight. We will also incur some local transport costs at the point of purchase. This would cost us Rs 1,840 a qtl. We’d paid Rs 1,750 a quintal in the earlier scheme.”

S Kannan, executive director of NAGA Ltd at Dindigul in Tamil Nadu said making arrangements for small quantities of wheat over a long distance might not make business sense. Millers in north India say the price is viable but demand is not an immediate issue. Adi Narayan Gupta, president of the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India, said: “The mills in the north have access to stock in nearby areas with farmers, traders and own inventory. They might scout for wheat outside their state only after a month.”