Archive · 6 Jan 2026
Govt to Resume Wheat E-Auction Amid Surplus
The government is going to start selling wheat through online auctions again.
They stopped doing this a few months ago because not many people were buying.
Now, they have a lot of wheat stored and want to sell some of it.
The wheat they sell is cheaper than what you can usually find in the market.
Some people are worried that selling so much wheat might make the prices go down even more.
The government also has a lot of rice and plans to sell a record amount of it this year.
They have so much rice stored that it's more than three times what they usually keep.
FCI to resume e-auction of wheat after discontinuing since early December due to low offtake.
Only 0.53 MT of wheat sold against FY26 target of 3 MT, with plans to sell over 2 MT.
Wheat price under OMSS is Rs 2550/quintal, lower than market prices of Rs 2800-2850/quintal.
Government aims to sell a record 8 MT of rice in FY26 from surplus stock.
Current central pool rice stock is over 31 MT, more than three times the buffer stock.
- Who
- Food Corporation of India (FCI)
- What
- Resumption of e-auction for wheat sales, record rice sales
- When
- After discontinuing since early December, procurement for 2026-27 starts April 1
- Where
- India
- Why
- To manage surplus wheat stock and reduce central pool rice stocks
Government
Market Analysts
Wheat Pricing
Government
The government believes the OMSS price of Rs 2550/quintal is fair and will help clear surplus stock.
Market Analysts
Market analysts argue that the OMSS price is too low and could disrupt market prices.
- Wheat sold (Nov-Dec 2025)
- 0.53 MT
- Wheat target (FY26)
- 3 MT
- Wheat price (OMSS 2025-26)
- Rs 2550/quintal (excl. freight)
- Current wheat price range
- Rs 2800-2850/quintal
- Current FCI wheat stock
- 27.65 MT
- Wheat buffer stock (Jan 1)
- 13.8 MT
- Rice to be sold (FY26)
- 8 MT
- Current central pool rice stock
- 31 MT