Pricey kitchen staples burn hole in pockets

Tomato to tur dal, essential food items have been registering a sharp price hike in TN for over a year, thanks to rise in fuel prices, leaving residents worried about putting food on the table. Govt, meanwhile, doesn’t want to let go its revenue by slashi

People of Tamil Nadu have been feeling the heat of a massive increase in the prices of essential food items for over a year and the recently released data on inflation by the central government substantiates the sufferings undergone by the majority of the population.

According to the data, oil and fats have registered a massive rise of 29.67 percentage inflation in November, this year, when compared to the previous year. The continuous rise of prices of dal and edible oils are eating into the monthly household budget for over a year.

For instance, the retail prices of tur dal, urad dal, moong dal and channa dal have remained over Rs 100 per kilogram for more than a year while the price of edible oils, particularly, sunflower oil and palm oil has shot up by 60 to 70 per cent in the last year.

Though economists blame the rise in fuel prices as the major reason for the price rise, they also say that various other reasons also influence the rise in prices of essential commodities. "Containing inflation is one of the important tasks of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). But the situation that arose due to the pandemic has resulted in the price hike. The fuel price hike is the most important reason for the rise in prices but as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, supply constraint has also resulted in a rise in prices of essential commodities, which was evident from the rise in food prices during the recent monsoon season," Professor KR Shanmugam, Dean, Madras School of Economics, told DT Next.

He also said that though the fuel price hike is the main reason for the price hike, no government is ready to reduce the taxes as it will cause a huge burden on their finances especially during the pandemic times as they had to spend on unplanned expenditures in the health sector.

Similarly, renowned economist Anand Srinivasan also blames the rise in fuel price as the major reason for the massive rise in prices of essential commodities. "When compared to the previous year, fuel and LPG prices have increased by 40 per cent. For the majority of Indians, 70 per cent of their income goes to rent, conveyance, electricity and food and the majority is feeling the heat due to the price hike," said Anand Srinivasan.

The economist also said that the increase in prices has resulted in a decrease in consumption which was evident from the statements of top food processing companies like Britannia and Parle G. The central government should reduce the indirect taxes to increase the consumption but instead is increasing the GST to jack up their revenue.

Govt measures: Too little, too late

In order to monitor the availability of food commodities at a fair price in the open market, a Price Monitoring Cell is functioning in the Commissionerate of Civil Supplies under the direct control of the Commissioner.

"This price monitoring cell monitors the prevailing retail and wholesale prices of selected food commodities like rice, wheat, pulses, sugar, edible oils and vegetables in the open market on a daily basis," said Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Chakkarapani, who heads the price monitoring committee.

The minister also said that the state government has constituted a Rs 100 crore fund for price stabilisation. The price monitoring cell continuously monitors the prices of essential commodities and whenever the prices of essential commodities go high, it intimates the state government.