Mumbai: The government is planning to offload 5-6 million tonnes of wheat, for both open market sales and allocation to consumers above the poverty line (APL) through ration shops, starting next week.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) yesterday approved the open market sale scheme for both wheat and rice to stem price volatility in the market.

''We will study area wise wheat prices. In South India, especially, there are many places where there seems to be an upward trend in prices,'' food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on the sidelines of a CII organised bio-fuel summit.

He said while the government would increase allocation of wheat for consumers above the poverty line through the PDS, it would also sell wheat to flour mills and others through open tender. A committee of secretaries would monitor the price situation every week and take a decision accordingly, he added.

Pawar said the operation would continue till the end of this year, adding ''We have stock for another 14 months.''

The government's had wheat buffer stock of 24.1 million tonnes as of 8 August. The food ministry had earlier proposed to release up to 10 million tonnes of foodgrains if its current season procurement tops 27.5 million tonnes.

The minister said the government would release around a million tonnes of rice in the open market. ''To begin with, one million tones will be possible," Pawar said, adding, there could be more allocation to the southern states like Kerala.

The country's rice buffer stocks stood at 6.24 million tonnes as of 1 September against a target of 5.2 million tonnes, the food ministry said in a statement.

He said the export ban on non-basmati rice, imposed in April, will not be lifted at the moment. ''We will not allow export of non-basmati rice for the time being. When I will get a proper final assessment about the crop at last stage then we will recommend,'' he said.

Pawar also ruled out reimposing import duty on crude palm oil even as the global prices of CPO have declined.

The government has abolished the import duties on crude edible oils and also reduced the duties on refined edible oils to 7.5 per cent.

The government also is planning to scrap export subsidy for sugar ahead of a September deadline to curb domestic prices that have risen in the last few weeks.

A food ministry statement, meanwhile, said prices of fruits, vegetables, milk, tea etc are largely governed by localised supply demand factors and any other local disruptions like rain etc.

The rate of inflation for all commodities for the week ended 9 August stood at 12.63 per cent up from 12.44 per cent reported last week.