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Food inflation eases as supplies rise
22 October 2010: Food inflation, based on the annual Wholesale Price Index (WPI), eased in early October 2010 on enhanced supplies and a drop in Y-O-Y inflation in some essential items, especially cereals, pulses and vegetables such as potatoes and onions.
As per the Union Government data, on 21 October 2010, the food price index in the year to 9 October 2010 increased 15.53 per cent, compared with 16.37 per cent in the previous week. Fuel inflation for the same week was stable at 11.14 per cent.
Food makes up 14 per cent of the WPI, while fuel contributes 15 per cent.
On an annual basis, inflation in potatoes was down 50 per cent and onions dipped by 8.62 per cent. However, other essential items such as cereals, milk and fruits continued to remain dearer. Cereals have gone up by 5.88 per cent on an annual basis, while pulses were up 4.44 per cent; wheat and rice increased by 7.01 per cent and 4.72 per cent, respectively. Among other food items, inflation in milk was 21.65 per cent during the latest reported week, compared with the same period in 2009.
According to the data, on a sequential basis, the Primary Articles group index declined by 0.2 per cent as the index for ‘Food Articles' group dropped by 0.3 per cent due to lower prices of poultry chicken (4 per cent on a week-on-week basis), fish-marine and bajra (3 per cent each) and fish-inland, moong, fruits and vegetables, arhar, maize and barley (1 per cent each). However, the prices of beef and buffalo meat (7 per cent), pork (4 per cent) and rice, gram, jowar and condiments and spices (1 per cent each) moved up.
The index for ‘Non-Food Articles' group gained 0.1 per cent due to higher prices of copra (6 per cent), raw rubber (3 per cent), mesta and coir fibre (2 per cent each) and raw silk (1 per cent). However, the prices of groundnut seed and castor seed (2 per cent each) and tobacco (1 per cent) declined. The index for ‘Minerals' group was down by 0.2 per cent due to lower crude petroleum.
Source: Hindu Business Line