Wheat and rice will be sold in open market

The government on Thursday decided to sell wheat and rice in the open market to bring down prices...

The government on Thursday decided to sell wheat and rice in the open market to bring down prices of these food grains which have been feeding inflation.

The decision to sell surplus stocks in the open market was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which was presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

While state governments will distribute the food grain to retail consumers, Food Corporation of India (FCI) would sell directly to the bulk buyers through an open tender system. The quantity and timing for open market operation will be decided by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution on the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries.

Story continues below this ad

However, the open market sale of food grains will be taken only after meeting the requirement for buffer stock and strategic reserves.

Record production of wheat at 78.40 million tonne, coupled with record procurement of 22.5 million tonne has enabled the government to go in for open-market sale. The country also achieved a record rice production of 96.43 million tonne and the procurement was also higher than in the previous year at 26.7 million tonne.