The government on Friday said it has sold 18.09 lakh tonnes of wheat to bulk users in 13 e-auctions under the Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS). Selling wheat through e-auction has helped in reducing the prices of flour.

Last month on August 9, the government announced that it would sell an additional 50 lakh tonnes of wheat and 25 lakh tonnes of rice under OMSS to bulk users. This sale was done through e-auction. This e-auction used to happen weekly. In this, wheat is being sold at the reserve price of Rs 2,125 per quintal. This is equal to the existing minimum support price.

The food ministry said in a statement that the successful implementation of the OMSS policy has ensured that wheat prices remain under control in the open market. Adequate stocks of wheat are available in the central pool to continue the OMSS policy for the remaining period of FY 2023-24.

The Food Ministry said that a total of 13 e-auctions have been conducted till September 21, 2023. In this, 18.09 lakh tonnes of wheat have been sold. More than 480 depots have been built across the country during the financial year 2023-24. In this, 2 lakh tonnes of wheat is being offered in auction every week. The ministry said the weighted average selling price of wheat in e-auction was Rs 2,254.71 per quintal in August, which has come down to Rs 2,163.47 per quintal on September 20.

The Food Ministry has said in its statement that the declining trend in the weighted average selling price of wheat indicates that the market price of wheat in the open market has cooled down. Further, in each of the weekly e-auctions conducted, the quantity sold has not exceeded 90 percent of the quantity offered, indicating that adequate stocks of wheat are being offered across the country.