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Business

Coronavirus effect: Millers say India will run out of atta, maida, sooji in 10 days if govt doesn't intervene

Updated : March 24, 2020 01:09 PM IST

India's medium-sized bread and biscuit manufacturers may face a short supply of flour over the next ten days if wheat shortage in the country continues.

India's medium-sized bread and biscuit manufacturers may face a short supply of flour over the next ten days if wheat shortage in the country continues.

The country’s millers are facing a severe shortage of wheat and are running on very thin supplies, sources told CNBC-TV18. “The reason for this is that mandis in a lot of regions have been shut since Friday. The unseasonal rain has also led to a delay in wheat procurement," said a miller.

Taking the recent developments into account, the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India has written to the Food Corporation of India on the wheat shortage. The letter has been exclusively reviewed by CNBC-TV18.

To maintain the continuity of production and supply of wheat flour, maida and sooji, the federation has suggested, “The general managers at all regional offices of the FCI be given authority to sell OMSS (D) wheat directly to flour mills in addition to the existing third party tender auction through Mjunction.” Mjunction is a B2B e-commerce platform.

The time period for the deposit of payment against wheat purchased under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS (D)) is presently restricted to maximum of one week. “It is requested that this period be enhanced to two weeks in view of the financial difficulties being faced by the industry,” said the letter.

The federation has also asked for a reduction in the minimum reserve price for wheat being sold in the OMSS (D). At this point in time, manufacturers and millers are also seeking clarity from the government on the transport of goods across borders, with several states and union territories in the country sealing borders and restricting movement in a bid to stave off the spread of coronavirus.

Another big issue that could pose to be a challenge for millers is packaging material. "The government has allowed manufacturers of essential commodities to operate but there is no clarity about whether packaging material manufacturers are allowed to operate. We may run out of packaging material soon," said a miller.

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