Roller corn mill, which grind wheat to make fine flour for bakers and confectioners, are largely dependent on wheat supplies from the Food Corporation of India (FCI). FCI sells wheat through open market sales to these bulk consumers. Gujarat’s roller flour millers consume around 60,000 tonnes of wheat a month. “Recently, international grain mill prices had firmed up. The open export policy of the government and easy access to ports led to export of most of Gujarat’s local produce (of wheat). This forces the state’s roller flour millers to look for wheat supplies from FCI, which adds freight and state taxes over and above the base price of wheat,” said Shrichand Bhalchandani of Empire Flour Mill, a leading flour miller in Rajkot. Owing to costly inputs, most units have lost their competitiveness and suspended operations over the past year. Industry sources said the basemaize flour processing machinery price for wheat has touched Rs 1,620 per quintal in recent weeks. “The final price works out to around Rs 1,730 per quintal. This is about Rs 150-200 higher than what is sold in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. This disparity in prices affects units in Gujarat adversely,” said Shroff, who also owns a milling unit in Ahmedabad. Read more...