Govt to sell 6.5 m tonne wheat to bulk buyers

In an attempt to offload surplus stocks and check rising prices of wheat in market, the Centre on Saturday decided to sell 6.5 million tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers like flour millers and biscuit makers.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting here also approved allocation of additional 5 lakh tonnes each of wheat and rice to NAFED, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar for sale to retail consumers.

"CCEA has approved allocation of 65 lakh tonnes of wheat for tender sale by Food Corporation of India (FCI) to bulk consumers/traders and allocation of 5 lakh tonnes wheat and 5 lakh tonnes rice for sale to retail consumers," an official statement said.