Reliance Retail wins bid to purchase 40,000 tonnes of wheat from Hafed

According to news reports, Reliance Retail has won the contract to purchase 40,000 tonnes of wheat from the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (Hafed) for Rs24,200 per tonne.

Hafed, which previously only purchased wheat at the minimum support price for Food Corporation of India, made its first market purchase of the grain this year specifically for exports. 1,80,000 tonnes of wheat had been purchased, with prices above the MSP for exports. However, the cooperative body began supplying wheat to domestic purchasers when the Center halted wheat exports in May.

Hafed is well known for working for profits. In order to compete with the private sector, it purchased this wheat of export quality from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh at market prices. Over 60,000 tonnes of the 1,04,268 tonnes in total that were tendered came from Madhya Pradesh, while 40,000 tonnes came from Haryana.

Officials from Hafed stated to ET, that they were most likely to accept Reliance Retail’s offer for the entire 40,000 tonnes of wheat with a Haryana provenance.

The Hafed sale, in the opinion of merchants, has sent a clear message that there is a lack of wheat on the market and that prices will remain stable.

Hafed has chosen to re-tender the more than 60,000 tonnes of wheat of MP origin that are still up for grabs.

The only agency with wheat for open market sale, aside from the private trade, is Hafed because FCI is unlikely to sell it under the open market sales system.