Food inflation rises to 17.94%

Wholesale food inflation rose for the third consecutive week to stand at 17.94 per cent for the week ended January 30, primarily due to rising prices of potato and pulses.

Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was at 17.56 per cent for the previous week ended January 13 and at 10.98 per cent during the corresponding period in 2009.

Food prices, which had shown some moderation in the last two weeks of December, have regained an upward trend even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured last week that the worst was over and the situation would ease soon.

The price of pulses rose at a rate of 41.24 per cent on an annual basis, while those of potatoes increased at 40.57 per cent. The inflation for primary articles, which include food and non-food items in raw form, increased to 15.75 per cent during the week from 14.56 per cent a week earlier. The inflation rate for cereals stood at 12.15 per cent for the week.

The price index for food articles, on the weekly basis, moved up 0.3 per cent.