According to sources, Reliance Retail was the highest bidder in the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation’s (HAFED) wheat sale tender, offering to purchase at ₹1,800-2,420/quintal (including taxes).
Hafed will make a decision on the tender soon, and dealers say some lots in Madhya Pradesh may be canceled due to poor bids.
According to sources, Hafed received bids from Reliance at ₹2,420 per quintal for 7 lots in Haryana for 42,075 tonnes of wheat, while others offered between ₹2,240 and ₹2,382 per quintal.
Dreamz Overseas, Haryana Trading Company, Lakshmi Narain Gouri Shanker, Panmeshwari Dass Ghanshyam Dass, Lakshmi Narain Sunil Kumar, Narain Ji Traders, Shri Ganga Traders, and Goldfinch Hygenic Foods were also evaluated in the bid evaluation.
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Lower quality
Reliance was the sole bidder for 13 lots of 62,193 tonnes on offer in Madhya Pradesh, merchants said since several enterprises did not participate due to a likely cancellation. ‘Because the quality of wheat available in MP was inferior to that available in Haryana, traders wanted to purchase the wheat at a lower cost.’ However, word circulated that Hafed might not sell if bids were received for less than $2,400,’ stated a source who submitted the bid.
According to the reports, Reliance offered ₹1,800 per quintal for approximately 20,000 tonnes on offer in four lots kept in Ujjain, Ashok Nagar, and Bhopal. Because the wheat in MP was purchased after the grain’s exports were banned (effective May 13) and when prices were high, Hafed may not want to dispose of it cheaply, according to a trader.
According to official data, mandi prices in MP averaged ₹2,096/quintal (without tax) in May, ₹2,022 in June, 2,108 in July, and ₹2,244 from August 1-24.
Center considering actions
Hafed stated that the successful bidders must remove the grain from the specified warehouses where the supplies are maintained within 40 days of the results being announced. Also Read | APMC Act impact: Reliance seals a deal to purchase Rice from Karnataka farmers
If the quantity stored at a godown exceeds 5,000 tonnes and the entire quantity stored at the godown is allotted to more than one bidder, whether in one tender or in separate tenders, the bidder who lifts the last consignment will be required to lift the balance quantity, if any, after depositing the due payment calculated at the accepted tender rate.
Taking the 10% increase in wheat prices since June end seriously, the Centre is exploring a variety of price-cutting measures, ranging from releasing grain under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) for user industries to lowering import duty to zero.
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