Food price rise ups India’s inflation rate, supplies pricier in rural areas

Consumer food price witnessed a 100 per cent rise between March 2021 and March 2022, the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) recently released by the National Statistical Office has revealed.

The inflation in consumer food price in rural areas, which stood at 3.94 per cent in March 2021 shot to 8.04 per cent by March 2022. A similar trend was witnessed in urban areas with the CPI going up to 7.66 per cent in March 2022 from 4.61 per cent the previous year.

The average Consumer Food Price Inflation for the country has also seen a steep rise – from 4.87 in March 2021 to 7.68 per cent in March 2022.

CPI inflation, on the other hand, shot from 5.85 per cent in February 2022 to 6.95 per cent in March 2022, the highest in 16 months.

Experts have attributed the inflation to rise in prices of oils, vegetables, meat and fish. While prices of oils and fats increased by 18.79 per cent between March 2021 and March 2022 – the highest rise among food basket items that are used to measure consumer food price inflation – that of vegetables and meat and fish rose by 11.64 per cent and 9.63 per cent respectively.

Year-on-year comparison shows that prices of fuel increased by 7.52 per cent, clothing and footwear by 9.40 per cent, housing by 3.38 per cent while that of tobacco and similar products increased by 2.98 per cent.

Experts have attributed the overall inflation in the country to a rise in food price rise. In February 2022, consumer food prices rose by 6.1 per cent, taking the overall inflation to an eight-month high.