Wheat Prices
No plan to cut wheat import duty, rates to ease on open mkt sales
This story was originally published at 21:46 IST on 19 December 2024
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024
--Food secy: No plans to cut wheat import duty as of now
--Food secy: Expect wheat prices to moderate with open market sales
NEW DELHI – Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra Thursday said the government had no plans to cut the 40% duty on wheat imports. Wheat prices have firmed up amid tight supply of the grain in the market.
The secretary said that to check prices, the government had reduced the quantity of wheat stock limits to prevent hoarding. "We expect wheat prices to moderate with OMSS (open market sales scheme)," Chopra told reporters on the sidelines of the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association annual general meeting on Thursday.
According to millers, wheat prices will continue to rise until the government releases more wheat under open market sales or through imports. New wheat crop arrivals are another three and half months away, a Bengaluru-based miller said. Most wheat-growing states see new crop arrivals starting from the first week of April.
Asked if the government would allocate wheat to be sold under open market operations, Chopra said the government was monitoring prices and would review the allocation accordingly. The government has allowed FCI to sell only 2.5 million tonnes of wheat till March-end. However, the market wants FCI to sell 4.5-5.0 million tonnes. Last year, FCI sold a record 9.4 million tonnes of wheat under the open market scheme.
Wheat supply in the market is tight as FCI delayed offloading the grain from its godowns amid lower procurement and falling stocks. While the corporation typically begins wheat auctions in July or August, in 2024-25, it began weekly auctions only in December. End
Reported by Afra Abubacker
Edited by Avishek Dutta
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
