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Informist, Friday, Aug 16, 2024

By Afra Abubacker

NEW DELHI – Prices of mill-quality wheat were steady in Indore even as firm festive demand and uncertainty over the start of wheat supply from government godowns through the open market sales continued to grip the market, traders said. 

Prices of mill-quality WHEAT at Indore in Madhya Pradesh were at 2,725-2,740 rupees per 100 kg, steady from the previous day, while arrivals fell by 600 bags to 1,900 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), Lavish Shah, a local wheat trader, said. 

Kota market was shut today on account of the annual holiday, Aniket Mehta, a local wheat trader said. "It is the yearly off program. Traders are having a get-together at Jaipur," Mehta said. The market will reopen on Tuesday. 

Wheat prices have firmed up in the last two weeks amid robust festive demand and tight supply in the market. The Food Corp of India is yet to start its open-market wheat sales. Typically, FCI starts its auction in the first week of August.

Left with low stocks, the food procurement agency will most likely wait till September or later, when festive demand peaks, to start open market sales, Rahul Chauhan, director of IGrain India, said. Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Dussehra, Diwali, Durga Puja, and Navarathri festivals are all in the next three months. 

The government's wheat stocks as of Aug 1 have fallen below the buffer norms. Wheat stocks with the Centre were 26.81 mln tn as of Aug 1, nearly 3% below the buffer norm of 27.58 mln tn for Jul-Sep, according to the data from FCI. Wheat stocks were down 4.4% from a year ago and 5% from a month ago, according to the data. 

The all-India average wholesale price of wheat was 2,764.32 rupees per 100 kg, up from 2,656.73 rupees last year, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. 

The US Department of Agriculture has scaled up its global wheat production estimate for 2024-25 to 798.3 mln tn from 796.2 mln tn projected last month, mainly due to higher output in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Australia. 

Prices of basmati RICE were steady at 8,000-8,100 rupees per 100 kg in Vashi, near Mumbai, Devendra Vora, a wholesale trader, said.

Though FCI is yet to start selling wheat, weekly rice auctions started in August and are ongoing. "(Traders') response is good. This is the right time to sell. They (FCI) have to clear the godowns and prepare for procurement," Vora said. Farmers will start bringing new paddy crops from mid-September, he added. 

Vora said the rice supply is tight only in special varieties and it is comfortable in mass-consumed varieties. 

The all-India average wholesale price of rice was 3,895.71 rupees per 100 kg, up from 3,664.22 rupees last year, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. 

End

Edited by Saji George Titus

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