Price Rise of Essential Commodities

New Delhi: All India Daily Average Retail Prices of 22 essential food items including vegetables for recent months of current year are at Annexure. Prices of food items are inter-alia affected by mismatch in demand and supply, shortfall in production owing to adverse weather conditions and seasonality, increased transportation costs, supply chain constraints like lack of storage facilities, artificial shortage created by hoarding and black marketing, etc.

Government has taken various measures from time to time to stabilize prices of essential food items which, inter-alia, include appropriately utilizing trade and fiscal policy instruments like import duty and export management through instruments like Minimum Export Price, export restrictions, etc. to regulate domestic availability and moderate prices; imposition of stock limits and advising States for effective action against hoarders & black marketers ; and promulgation of appropriate Minimum Support Prices to incentivize farmers for increasing production. Government is also implementing Schemes which, inter alia, include Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), etc. for increasing agricultural production and productivity through appropriate interventions. Besides, Government is also implementing Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to help moderate the volatility in prices of agri-horticultural commodities like pulses, onion, and potato. Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing scheme “Operation Greens” for integrated development of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) value chain which, inter alia, has the objective of price stabilization for producers and consumers through production planning in the TOP clusters and introduction of dual use varieties.

This information was given in a written reply by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Danve Raosaheb Dadarao in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

ANNEXURE

ALL INDIA MONTHLY AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF 22 ESSENTIAL FOOD ITEMS MONITORED BY DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS