Few takers for FCI wheat

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MAY 30. With practically no takers, wheat stocks are mounting in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India in Tamil Nadu.

As against its total capacity of 10.16 lakh tonnes in the State, the Corporation has 5.4 lakh tonnes of wheat and 4.6 lakh tonnes of rice. As all its godowns are surplussing either with rice or wheat stocks, the Corporation has resorted to cover and plinth (CAP) storages on an airstrip at Ulundurpet near Viruddhachalam. About 60,000 tonnes of wheat is stored in Ulundurpet.

The Corporation authorities here have already written to their head-office in Delhi not to move any more wheat stocks to the South until the existing stocks are cleared.

The prime reason for mounting wheat stocks is the absence of buyers, especially flour mill owners and private traders. There is a substantial difference in price between the open market and the FCI. While wheat is available at Rs. 750 to Rs. 800 a tonne in the open market, the Corporation price is Rs. 950 a tonne. With the result private traders and flour millers are unwilling to patronise FCI wheat.

The situation is compounded by the suspension of wheat allotment to Tamil Nadu by the Centre after the recent hike in the PDS price. Earlier the State was getting a monthly allotment of 30,000 tonnes from the Centre for its public distribution system (PDS). The allotment has been stopped since April.

Major buyers of wheat from the Corporation are flour mills in the State, who convert the whole wheat into maida, sooji and atta. Flour mill-owners who used to be at the mercy of the Corporation for their wheat requirement, no longer depend on the Corporation as they are getting their supply in the open market at a lesser price.

As for rice stocks, there would not be any problem in disposing them. The Corporation has to supply about 1.4 lakh tonnes every month to Tamil Nadu for its PDS supply.

According to the Tamil Nadu Roller Flour Mills Association secretary, Mr. S. Nityanandam, freshly harvested wheat is available in abundance in the market. Wheat traders from Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and MP are ready to supply any quantity at a comparatively lesser price, that too on credit basis, to the millers. Moreover, the millers have an option to select the quality if they purchase from private traders while they have no such option with the Corporation.

Sources in the Corporation say that although the FCI is an independent organisation it has no powers to fix the purchasing or selling price of any grain as they are determined by the Central Government. Normally there will be heavy offtake of wheat in the lean season and the stock mounts during bumper harvest. With the rabi season already commenced, more wheat is expected to arrive at the market. With the result they see little possibility for any increase in wheat price in the open market. They hope the price is likely to show an upward trend in August when there will be more demand for the Corporation's wheat.

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Section  : Southern States
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