NEW DELHI: The Centre will release an additional 1.5 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market to check price rise in retail.

The price of wheat flour has soared to about Rs. 13 a kg. With the release of the additional quantity, about three lakh tonnes of wheat will be available to bulk consumers in the open market during the month.

In January, the Centre released 1.5 lakh tonnes. As a result, the open market price has fallen by Rs. 50 a quintal in Delhi, according to a Food Ministry spokesperson.

To meet the increased demand from bulk consumers, the Government has released 20,000 tonnes each for Delhi and Tamil Nadu, 10,000 tonnes each for Karnataka, West Bengal and Maharashtra and 3,000 tonnes for Kerala.

Wheat has been released at Rs. 825-952 a quintal.

On January 1, wheat stocks in the Central pool were 62 lakh tonnes.

The monthly requirement for the public distribution system and welfare schemes is estimated at between 13 lakh tonnes and 15 lakh tonnes.

Based on preliminary indications, the Government expects that wheat output will be around 75.5 million tonnes.

Market arrivals will begin in the third week of March.

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