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Informist, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

NEW DELHI – The Food Corp. of India has raised the maximum quantity a flour miller or wheat products manufacturers can bid for in its auction Wednesday to control the inflationary trend in wheat prices. Processing units with high-tension electricity connections can now bid for 500 tonnes, against 300 tonnes previously, according to FCI. The corporation has not revised the quantity per bidder for buyers with low-tension connections. 

 

In its upcoming sixth round of auctions Wednesday, FCI will offer 218,500 tonnes to millers and end users such as biscuit and bread makers, across 22 states and one Union Territory. FCI has been offering over 200,000 tonnes in its previous auctions to improve supply and ease market prices. 

 

"In view of the above (selling) prices being realized over the reserve price in recent e-auctions and the inflationary trend in wheat prices.....The quantity cap of wheat per bidder shall be subject to the following limits: minimum 10 MT maximum 50 MT for LT connections, and minimum 10 MT maximum 500 MT HT connection," FCI said in a letter Friday.

 

FCI said its selling prices are being realised higher than the reserve price in its recent wheat auctions. Many buyers have been bidding strongly for FCI wheat over INR 3,000 per 100 kg, significantly up from the reserve price of INR 2,585 for relaxed-quality wheat and INR 2,600 for fair-and-average quality wheat. These are the reserve prices for wheat varieties, excluding transportation and other handling charges.

 

"In the previous auction, the bidding range was quite wide in many states. If we talk about UP, then the lowest bid was around INR 2,689 and the highest bid was INR 2,878. That was a gap of INR 190," Sandeep Bansal, an Uttar Pradesh-based miller said. "This indicates that there are two kinds of buyers. One, the opportunistic one, who is just placing the bid and trying to get the wheat at very discounted price. Then there are some serious millers who are willing to take the wheat at any cost or higher rates. We can say on market rates," he added.

 

"So, to adjust that gap and to give a proper opportunity to serious buyers, government has increased the bid quantity. That will help millers to buy good enough quantity to cover his weekly requirements," Bansal said. "So, this 300 to 500 tonne journey will help the serious buyer, who is looking for the wheat, not just for the discounted wheat," he added. 

 

Wednesday, FCI plans to sell 38,000 tonnes in Punjab, 22,000 tonnes in Haryana, and 20,000 tonnes each in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In Delhi, 11,000 tonnes will be offered to millers and processors and 8,000 tonnes in Maharashtra. The offers across more than 20 states total to 218,500 tonnes of wheat. 

 

However, market experts see these offer quantum are not adequate, and the market needs more. "Market required 200,000 tonnes (per auction) in October, 300,000 tonnes (per auction) in November and market will require 400,000 tonnes (per auction) in December to cool down the prices. But the government is bit late in this cycle," Bansal said. 

 

In October, FCI was offering wheat at around 100,000 tonne. In November, they raised it to 200,000 tonnes. "So, In a way, they are one month behind the market," Bansal said, adding that if the government's wheat supply does not catch up with the market demand, wheat prices may rise further in the coming months.  End

 

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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