Wheat, rice prices showing declining trend: Government

Wheat and rice prices in wholesale and retail markets in the country showed a declining trend till August 16 this year compared to the month-ago period on market intervention, the government said on Friday. The food ministry in a statement said 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, it added.

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.

The ministry said it is "proactively pursuing policies which help in keeping inflation low, as reflected in the open market sale scheme (OMSS) policy of the year 2021-22".

Under OMSS, the government sells rice and wheat to bulk consumers at the reserve price.

About 9.84 lakh tonne of wheat and 4.13 lakh tonne of rice has been sold under OMSS till July this year, the statement added.