State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) will sell 4.29 lakh tonnes of wheat and 3.95 lakh tonnes of rice from the buffer stock to bulk consumers in the third round of e-auction to be held on July 12.

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The government is offloading wheat and rice from the FCI stock under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk consumers to improve the domestic supply and control the retail price of rice, wheat and atta.

In the third round of e-auction, the FCI will offer a quantity of 4.29 lakh tonnes of wheat from 482 depots and 3.95 lakh tonnes of rice from 254 depots from across the country, the food ministry said in a statement.

FCI has come out with tenders in this regard. Interested parties may empanel themselves for participation in future e-auctions, it said.

The FCI is encouraging more small and marginal end users to participate in the weekly e-auctions so that the stocks reach a wider section of the society, it added.

In the previous e-auction conducted on July 5, a total quantity of 1.29 lakh tonnes of wheat was sold to 1,337 bidders and 170 tonnes of rice to 5 bidders.

The weighted average selling price was Rs 2,154.49/quintal for FAQ (Fair and average quality) wheat against the reserve price of Rs 2,150/quintal pan-India whereas weighted average selling price of under relaxed specifications (URS) quality of wheat was Rs 2,132.40/quintal against the reserve price of Rs 2,125/quintal, the ministry said.

The weighted average selling price was Rs 3,175.35/quintal for rice against the reserve price of Rs 3,173/quintal pan-India.

The stock declaration by bidders in wheat stock management portal of the government of India is made mandatory for participation in the e-auction for wheat.

In the current tranche of e-auctions, the ministry said that the reduction in retail price is being targeted by offering up to 100 tonnes maximum for a buyer.

This decision is to encourage small and marginal end users and to ensure that more participants could come forward and bid for the quantity from their depot of choice, it added.

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(Edited by : Keshav Singh Chundawat)