Haryana: HAFED Plans to Sell Over 67,000 Tonnes of Wheat in Open Market through Online Platforms

HAFED announced on its website that online bidding/e-auctions will take place on the NCDEX e Markets ('NeML') platform, Star Agribazaar Technology (Agribazaar), and E- Tech Innovative Service Private Limited.

26,968.56 tonnes are available at various locations in Haryana's Fatehabad district, while the remaining 40,395.06 tonnes will be sold in Madhya Pradesh, where stocks are kept in Ujjain, Indore, Dewas, Vidisha, Ganjbasoda, Sehore, and Bhopal.

"Bids received for less than the specified minimum quantity (200 tonnes) or actual quantity, whichever is less, for a specific lot and location will not be considered," it said, adding that the base price or reserve price for each lot will be declared at the time of the e-auction.

This is HAFED's seventh attempt to sell the wheat, as it has failed to sell the entire quantity of over 4 lakh tonnes for which bids were invited on six previous occasions since August.

After the Cabinet last week decided to discontinue the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year and allow the 81 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act to receive free rations until December 2023, the Centre will soon make a decision on the open market sale scheme (OMSS) of wheat during January-March.

The main issue will be the price at which FCI sells the wheat, as wheat was sold at $2,443.55 per quintal in the most recent HAFED tender, according to a flour miller. The Centre estimates the economic cost of wheat for 2022-23 at $2,588.70. "If price control is the goal, there must be uniform selling prices across the country, and millers must be asked to lift from designated depots," the flour miller explained.

Retail inflation in cereals (rice and wheat) was 12.96% in November, ranking second only to spices in the food basket. According to Consumer Affairs Ministry data, all-India average retail prices of wheat have risen by 13.4% and atta by 18% since January of this year.

The Centre announced the OMSS wheat policy in February this year, under which reserve prices were fixed at $2,200/quintal until September 30 and $2,225 from October to December. However, the government suspended OMSS after wheat procurement fell to a 15-year low of 187.9 lt during the 2022-23 rabi marketing season (April-March).

Ahead of the festival season and Assembly elections, the Centre announced in September that PMGKAY would be extended for three months, from October to December, at a cost of Rs 44,762 crore, with free distribution of an estimated 119.62 lakh tonne (lt) of foodgrains (21.01 lt wheat and 98.61 lt rice).