Government no to cut in OMSS wheat prices

Food minister KV Thomas told FE that 'sufficient' quantity of wheat had been allocated by Food Corporation of India (FCI) from its stocks, around 34 million tonnes, at the start of the month for the OMSS. “OMSS prices are reasonable and we do not want to reduce it further,” Thomas said. He said the food ministry's prime job is to ensure that there is enough stock for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and adequate under strategic reserve and buffer stocks norms.

“There is a cost of holding and procuring wheat. Thus, we do not want to review the OMSS prices now,” he said. As per the latest data, more than 6.4 million tonnes of wheat had been allocated under OMSS during current fiscal out of which bulk buyers have lifted close to 3 million tonnes till the end of November. During last few months, traders have been pushing for more allocation of wheat under the OMSS, which the FCI had launched in 2008-09 for selling excess stocks to bulk buyers.

For wheat-consuming states in southern, eastern and western regions, the FCI had fixed the price on the basis of minimum support price (MSP) and freight cost from Ludhiana. For wheat-producing states such as Punjab and Haryana, OMSS prices have been fixed on the basis of MSP and applicable state taxes

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