New Delhi, April 19 (Commoditiescontrol): Wheat markets across major centers continued to show steady trend with a positive outlook, favoured by active government procurement efforts. While a slight decline in mandi arrivals of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Rajasthan further supported prices, the absence of major bulk stockists tempered potential gains.
In Rajasthan, wheat arrivals have shown a gradual decline in major mandis. Today, around 1.1 lakh bags arrived in the Kota mandi, down from the 1.5-1.7 lakh bags witnessed at the beginning of April. Peak arrivals of approximately 2.25 lakh bags were recorded earlier in the month. A similar downtrend in arrivals has been observed in major mandis of MP.
Despite government procurement initiatives, farmers in MP are showing a preference for selling wheat to mandi traders. However, the decline in wheat arrivals suggests that a growing number of farmers are becoming reluctant to sell at current rates.
In Kota mandi, mill quality wheat prices were quoted at Rs 2350-2425 per quintal, marking an increase of Rs 25 per quintal compared to yesterday. In Delhi, prices rose by Rs 20 per quintal to reach Rs 2450 per quintal. Rajasthan's new wheat saw an uptick of Rs 10 per quintal at Rs 2530 per quintal, with arrivals totaling between 28000-30000 metric tons. Similarly, Gujarat's new wheat traded higher by Rs 20 per quintal at Rs 2540 per quintal due to improved demand.
In Uttar Pradesh (UP), the market also experienced an increase of Rs 20 per quintal, reaching Rs 2430 per quintal, while loose mandi rates saw a similar rise to Rs 2300 per quintal. MP wheat traded steady at Rs 2525 per quintal ex-mill.
In South India, Hyderabad's MP new wheat line traded steady at Rs 2750 per quintal, while spot Bangalore's MP line maintained stability at Rs 2840 per quintal (with a 4% countervailing duty applicable on the above rates).
A slight improvement was observed in Bihar prices, supported by active stockists, with wheat prices rising by Rs 10 to reach Rs 2420-2440 per quintal.
Given the already active presence of stockists and the bottom levels of mill delivery prices in the Eastern part of India reaching Rs 2550-2570 per quintal, wheat prices are anticipated to remain steady to firm in the near term.