By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s annual food inflation based on wholesale prices fell marginally to 18.65 percent for the week ended Dec 12 from 19.95 percent the week before even as prices of essential commodities continued to rule high.
As per official data on wholesale price index released Thursday, the annual inflation of primary articles rose 14.66 percent during the week, as against 14.98 percent for the previous week, while the rise for fuels remained at 3.95 percent.
Following are the average rise in prices of some essential food items over a 52-week period:
– Potatoes: 115.04 percent
– Vegetables: 37.97 percent
– Pulses: 41.61 percent
– Onions: 17.88 percent
– Milk: 13.61 percent
– Wheat: 8.77 percent
– Cereals: 11.02 percent
– Rice: 10.78 percent
– Fruits: 10.2 percent
Despite the marginal fall in food prices, grocery bills continued to remain high as the worst monsoon in nearly four decades and unexpected floods in some parts of the country pushed up food prices.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said it was a major challenge for the government to check inflation in the short-to-medium term.
Mukherjee said to achieve equitable growth, farm output will have to expand at 4 percent yearly. Agriculture sector grew 2.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal and one percent in the second quarter.
Opposition parties had stalled parliamentary proceedings over spiralling food prices, resulting in the adjournment of Lok Sabha for a day.