A study of the price trend of the retail and wholesale prices of rice and wheat showed a declining trend till August 16 this year compared to the month-ago period on market intervention. As per the data shared by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the retail price of rice declined by 1.78 per cent to Rs 35.28 per kg on August 16 from Rs 35.92 per kg a month ago. The wholesale price of rice also fell 2.17 per cent to Rs 3,030.6 per quintal from Rs 3,097.88 per quintal in the said period. On the other hand, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) data showed rice exports rose 25.3 per cent to USD 2.4 billion and the outbound shipments of other cereals jumped to USD 231.4 million in April-June.
As per the data provided by the Ministry of consumer Affairs, 9.84 lakh metric tons of wheat was sold till July so far in 2021-22. Similarly, 4.13 lakh metric tons of rice sold during the same period. “A record sale of wheat and rice has helped the ministry to control the prices in the retail and wholesale markets,” said officials. In the case of wheat, retail prices dipped by 2.18 per cent to Rs 26.52 per kg on August 16 from Rs 27.11 per kg in the month-ago period.
The wholesale rate of wheat fell by 2.82 per cent to Rs 2,258.05 per quintal from Rs 2,323.52 per quintal in the said period.
Under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) policy of the year 2021-22”, the Government sells rice and wheat to bulk consumers at the reserve price.
As per the APEDA data, rice exports rose 25.3 per cent to USD 2.4 billion and the outbound shipments of other cereals jumped to USD 231.4 million in April-June. “The rise in export of agricultural and processed food products is the outcome of various initiatives taken for the export promotion of agricultural and processed food products such as organising B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns by the active involvement of Indian Embassies,” the ministry of commerce said.