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Informist, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

 

By Afra Abubacker and Pallavi Singhal 

 

MUMBAI – The Food Corp. of India has started selling rice through auctions under the open market sale scheme for 2025-26 (Apr–Mar) this month at revised reserve prices. Since Aug. 6, FCI has sold 128,000 tonnes of rice through weekly auctions, an FCI official said. 

 

"This is not inclusive of rice sold from Apr-Jun, when the government extended the 2024-25 rice OMSS window till June," he added. During Apr-Jun, FCI sold 600,000 tonnes of rice at last year's reserve rates, despite the financial year having changed. The corporation formally closed those auctions on Jun. 19.

 

FCI was supposed to end the 2024-25 open market sales in March. But, with rice stocks piling to a two-decade high level, the government directed FCI to continue offloading rice in the market till Jun. 30 at the reserve prices set for FY25. 

 

"The (FY25) reserve rates applicability was extended till Jun. 30," the official said. Revised prices of different foodgrains, including wheat and rice varieties for 2025-26, were notified only in July.

 

The government has been grappling with surplus stocks due to its open-ended procurement policy. In addition, paddy cultivation has been on the rise amid incentives like high minimum support prices and additional state bonuses for the grain. However, FCI has been struggling to sell what it procured. 

 

To clear its swelling rice stocks, FCI raised the frequency of rice auctions to twice a week since January. Yet, the offtake has been sluggish as rice availability remains comfortable across the country. "FCI continues to conduct auctions on Wednesday and Thursday for 2025-26 as well," the official said. 

 

As of Jul. 1, rice stocks in the central pool were up 16% on year at 38.0 million tonnes--the highest in two decades for the month. 

 

2025-26 SALES

Since April, FCI has sold 727,000 tonnes of rice through auctions under open market sales. This includes the Apr-Jun extended sales of 600,000 tonnes at last year's reserve rates and sales of 128,000 since August at new rates, the official said.

 

For 2025-26, the reserve price for broken rice is INR 2,320 per 100 kilograms under open market sales, up from INR 2,250 per 100 kg. The reserve price for 25% broken rice has increased to INR 2,890 per 100 kg from INR 2,800 per 100 kg. Similarly, the price for custom-milled rice with 10% broken grain has risen to INR 3,090 per 100 kg from INR 3,000 per 100 kg.

 

Last year, as of March end, FCI sold a record 1.96 million tonnes of rice through weekly auctions under the open market sales scheme for 2024-25. If the sales during Apr-Jun at FY25 reserve rates are considered, the total is 2.56 million tonnes. However, both are significantly below the 4.0 million tonnes allocated for the year. 

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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