Govt trims open market sale price of rice

The Union government on Wednesday decided to lower the base price of rice being auctioned by the Food Corp. of India (FCI) under a scheme for bulk buyers, millers, processors and traders, after receiving muted response in the six auctions held so far.

- Puja Das

On 5 July, the government had set a reserve price of ₹3,100 per quintal for rice under the so-called open market sale scheme domestic (OMSS-D), which did not find many takers given that it was priced above market rates.

Buyers on Wednesday picked up only 1,500 tonnes, and a total of 495 tonnes in the previous five auctions, prompting government to cut the base price by ₹200 a quintal. The new reserve price will take effect from next week’s auction.

“Keeping in view the experience of the past five e-auctions for rice by FCI, it has been decided that the reserve price will be brought down by ₹200 a quintal and the effective price now will be ₹2900 per quintal," Union food and public distribution secretary Sanjeev Chopra told reporters.