Press Trust of India / New Delhi Nov 26, 2009, 12:32 IST
Food inflation shot up to 15.58 per cent for the second week of November on the back of potato prices, which have more than doubled in the past one year.
Other essential items like pulses and onion rose by more than 25 per cent in the wholesale market, government data on inflation for week ended November 14 showed.
"Food inflation is incredibly high...The drought has aggravated the situation and I expect the wholesale price- based inflation to rise to around 7 per cent by March next year," said HDFC Bank economist Jyotinder Kaur.
With inflationary pressure building up, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its next policy review may take steps to check easy money. "It is likely that RBI in its January policy might go for monetary tightening measures and raise Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) or policy rates," Kaur said.
According to the inflation data, potato prices rose by 111 per cent, pulses by 35 per cent and onion by 27 per cent in the one-year period ending November 14.
Staple items like wheat and rice rose by 12 per cent each during the period. Vegetable too continued to stalk consumers registering a 12 per cent rise during the same period.
However, among fuels petrol prices fell by 12 per cent, cooking gas by 7 per cent and diesel by 6 per cent.
Food inflation is continuously raging and the Government appears to have no clue as to the causes and is practically immobilsed bereft of any action.As food expenses constitute more than 50% of the budget of the poor people, steps should be taken to import pulses and stringent action to be taken against traders and middle men who take advantage of the situation hoard and sell at very high prices.It is a wonder that the even opposition is keeping mum.
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