The government's food grain stock has increased by 18% compared to last year. Wheat stock has increased by 22% compared to last year while rice stock has increased by 17% compared to last year. How much will the government benefit from having adequate stock? Will it help in case of market fluctuations?
The government had sold 10 million tonnes of wheat under OMSS. Wheat sales started late this year. FCI will sell rice to ethanol distilleries at `2250/quintal. This will help the government in handling market fluctuations.
The stock of wheat was 16.17 million tonnes while the stock of rice was 67.6 million tonnes. Let us tell you that the food grain stock of the government was 70.92 million tonnes in February 2024 while it was 83.78 million tonnes in February 2025.
WPPS Chairman Ajay Goyal says that the government will benefit from releasing the wheat. There is no arrival of wheat in the open market right now. The price in Delhi's market is Rs 3250 per quintal. On February 1, there was 16 million tonnes of wheat in stock. The government has enough wheat right now. The cap on the user should be increased to 400-500 tonnes. There is little hope of wheat prices increasing in the wholesale market.
IREF VP Dev Garg says that there is a bumper stock of rice this year. FCI has a stock of 224 lakh tonnes. The new season has a stock of 270 lakh tonnes. The government has a surplus stock of 500 lakh. The government has removed duty on non-basmati and white rice. The government has also reduced the prices for ethanol. Several meetings were held with the government.
There is a possibility of a decrease in wheat production
This year the heat is going to increase in the coming days. January was the hottest month in history and February is already making people sweat. In many states, the temperature has already reached above 30 degrees. This will have an impact on the wheat crop.
The amount of rainfall in January has decreased by 80 percent. The temperature has been recorded 6 degrees higher than normal. Due to lack of cold during January, the wheat crop may be affected. The rising temperature may affect the wheat crop and wheat production may decrease. Please note that a temperature of 15 degrees is necessary for the wheat crop.
