Page 9 - Food Inflation

Food industry impacted by high commodity prices: Britannia Industries

FMCG major Britannia Industries Limited said that the food sector in which it operates has been significantly impacted by high commodity prices, rising interest rates and due to the fall out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The long term effects of these factors continue to be felt extensively, the company said in its annual report for 2022-23. It said that although commodity prices were volatile and inflation was at unprecedented levels, the post-COVID normalisation of economic activities supported growth throughout 2022-23. During the last fiscal, the major challenge confronting the food industry was managing inflation in the cost of key inputs like wheat, milk, sugar, palm oil and crude oil, the company annual report said. The foods vertical of Britannia comprise segments like biscuits, cakes, rusks, bread and dairy. On the outlook for the foods vertical, the company said that businesses in the country are still optimistic on demand conditions despite apprehensions about global

Cut-off yield on 364-day Treasury bill up 7 bps as traders resist to invest

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the cut off yield on the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day T-bill at 6.72 per cent, 6.87 per cent, and 6.93 per cent, respectively

Tomato prices may touch Rs 300/kg in coming days: Wholesale traders

Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kilogram in the coming days and the prices of vegetables are also on the rise, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically. He said that the prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, owing to which retail prices can also go up. Meanwhile, Mother Dairy started selling the key kitchen staple at a whopping Rs 259 per kg on Wednesday via its Safal retail stores. Tomato prices have been under pressure for more than a month now on account of supply disruptions caused due to heavy rainfall in the key producing regions. "There is a lot of difficulty in transportation of vegetables due to landslides and heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. It takes 6 to 8 hours more than usual in exportation of vegetables

Tomato prices spike on tight supply, Mother Dairy selling at Rs 259/kg

Tomato prices have again hit the roof in the national capital with Mother Dairy selling the key kitchen staple at a whopping Rs 259 per kg on Wednesday via its Safal retail stores. Tomato prices have been under pressure for more than a month now on account of supply disruptions caused due to heavy rainfall in the key producing regions. With central government's intervention through sale of tomatoes at a subsidised rate since July 14, retail prices in the national capital had begun softening recently but have again firmed up due to short supply. As per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry, retail price of tomato touched Rs 203 per kg on Wednesday, whereas at Mother Dairy's Safal retail outlets, the price was ruling at Rs 259 per kg. Tomato supply has been affected across the country for last two months owing to weather abnormalities. In the last two days, arrivals in Azadpur, which is the main feeder for Delhi, has also dropped drastically. Due to short supply, price

India may continue supply interventions to curb food inflation: Nomura

Earlier this month, the government stepped in to procure tomatoes from certain centres to redistribute them in regions of high consumption to bring down prices

UK's high food inflation not driven by weak competition: Regulator

UK food price inflation reached its highest since 1977 in March at more than 19%, according to official data

Britain's food industry thinks worst inflation is over as costs stabilise

Britain's overall rate of inflation has remained stubbornly high this year. Economists expect it to dip to 8.2% on Wednesday

Food inflation still high worldwide; Venezuela, Lebanon worst hit

In real terms, food price inflation exceeded overall inflation in 79.8% from 163 countries where data are available, the World Bank said in its latest food security update

Amid supply chain woes, Tomato prices breach Rs 200 per kg mark in Delhi

On Wednesday, the Centre announced that it will start selling tomatoes at discounted rates in retail markets in the national capital and a few other cities from Friday

TMS Ep471: Inflation, Maruti-Toyota, bank consolidation, Kashmiri saffron

Will tomato prices sour RBI's fight against inflation? Is Maruti getting dependent on Toyota? Will HDFC merger trigger consolidation among PSU banks? Why's Kashmiri saffron so expensive? Answers here

TMS Ep463: Food inflation, Yevgeny Prigozhin, primary market, AI hype

Has monsoon solved this year's food inflation problem? Who is Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin? Will the momentum in the primary market sustain? What is AI hype? All answers here

Will strive to get CPI to 4%, El Nino a challenge for food inflation: Das

Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the Reserve Bank will strive to get headline inflation to its 4 per cent target but flagged El Nino as a challenge to its efforts. In an exclusive interview with PTI Bhasha at his office here, Das exuded confidence that the economy will grow at 6.5 per cent in FY24, as estimated by the RBI earlier. The central bank's rate hikes by a cumulative 2.50 per cent since May last year, coupled with supply-side measures from the government, have helped get the inflation down to 4.25 per cent in May from a peak of 7.8 per cent in April last year, Das said. "We continue to be watchful on the inflation front. We expect inflation to be at 5.1 per cent in FY24, and we will continue to strive and get it down to 4 per cent," he added. On the high borrowing costs, Das said interest rates have a direct relation with inflation, and the RBI can cut interest rates if the consumer price inflation cools down to 4 per cent or thereabouts on a durable basis. The governor

Govt cuts import duty on refined soybean and sunflower oils to 12.5%

Move in contrast with mood in the market

Retail price inflation for wheat, rice, jeera, tur remains on the boil

Government imposes limits on the quantity of wheat that traders, wholesalers can hold until March 31

Retail inflation eases to 4.25% in May; April IIP rises 4.2% vs 1.1% in Mar

It was for the second month in a row that retail inflation remained within the RBI's comfort zone of below six per cent

Credit growth expected to moderate to 10% in FY24 from 15% in FY23: Report

The credit growth momentum is waning in the country and the crucial non-food loans growth is expected to slip to 10 per cent in FY24 from more than 15 per cent in FY23, a Japanese brokerage said on Monday. Ebbing inflationary pressures, especially on the wholesale side which tends to lower working capital needs, and a likely moderation in GDP growth to 5.3 per cent in FY24 were cited as the primary reasons for the lower bank credit growth expectation by Nomura. " we expect credit growth to moderate to 10 per cent in FY24 from 15 per cent in FY23," analysts at the brokerage said in a report, adding that the base effect will also be partly responsible for driving the number down. They also said the rate hikes of more than 2.50 per cent by RBI in the current tightening cycle will impact credit growth through a lagged impact on borrowings, and already, there are some signs of a dent on the home loan front. The credit growth momentum is already moderating, the brokerage said, pointing o

WPI inflation at 29-month low in March, prices of manufactured goods dip

It was for the sixth consecutive month that wholesale inflation was down to single digits, after remaining in double digits for 18 months

Workers at poverty-fighting organisation World Bank struggle to pay bills

Andre Blount has been serving food to dignitaries at World Bank headquarters for nearly 10 years and says he has gotten exactly one raise -- for 50 cents. This week, as leaders from around the world are in DC for the spring meeting of the poverty-fighting organisation, Blount and his coworkers are trying to bring attention to what they see as a galling situation: The workers who put food on the table for an organisation whose mission is to fight poverty are themselves struggling to get by. Union leaders say a quarter of the World Bank food workers employed as a contract labourers through Compass Group North America receive public benefits, like SNAP, or food stamps, just to make ends meet. It's sickening, Blount, 33, said as he joined red-shirted union members this week on a picket line outside the development bank on a hot afternoon. They go around the world looking for how to help people, but you have hundreds of employees in DC who are struggling. Inside, meanwhile, suited-up

Soaring milk prices may become a hurdle in Modi govt's inflation fight

"In terms of the outlook for this year, we believe that milk prices will continue to increase, since there is a shortage of milk heading into the peak demand season," said an economist

Inflation may ease in March on softening food prices, says poll

Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, is expected to have moderated due to falling vegetable prices, offset in part by surging cereal prices