Not just prices of wheat, but that of all its byproducts — atta (wheat flour), maida, sooji and rawa (semolina) — fell in the last month by 10-14 per cent, data from officials and trade sources showed. Wheat prices have slumped from their record high of about Rs 3,200 per quintal in mid-January to about Rs 2,200 a quintal, since the Centre started liquidating its wheat inventories through the open market sale scheme. First it allocated about 3 million tonnes of wheat for sale through the process, which was later expanded to another 2 million tonnes. So far in the four tenders executed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), about 2.4 million tonnes of wheat have been sold. The government had fixed a reserve base price of Rs 2,350 per quintal with freight, which was later brought to further cool down prices. Wheat prices in the CPI for January rose to an all-time high of 25.05 per cent since the new series was introduced in 2012, largely due to delay in liquidation of central pool stocks which started in February. Wheat and Product Prices Fall Since Feb 1, 2023 In Delhi Markets In Rs/Kgs Products 1-Feb 15-Feb 2-Mar %Change** Atta* 35 34 31 -11.43 Maida 36 33.6 31 -13.89 Sooji 36.4 34 31.4 -13.74 Rava 36.6 34.2 31.6 -13.66 Wheat 28.65 24.9 23.15 -19.20 NOTE: Except for atta all other prices are ex-mill while atta (wheat flour) is retail prices *As per data furnished by Department of Consumer Affairs **Between Feb 1, 2023 and March 2, 2023 Source: Department of Consumer Affairs and iGrain India
