Uptick In Retail Prices In FY20, Mainly On Veggies, Pulses: Economic Survey

Consumer price inflation has been witnessing moderation since 2014; however, there has been an "uptick" in the prices of food items, particularly vegetables, owing to output disruptions and low base effect, the Economic Survey said on Friday.

The Survey has recommended measures to safeguard farmers through procurement under Price Stabilization Fund to help regulate the price volatility of important agri-horticultural commodities and also added that Minimum Support Price (MSP) needs to be made more effective.

The Economic Survey 2019-20, presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that inflation has been witnessing moderation since 2014; however, recently there has been an "uptick". It pointed out that the major driver of consumer price or retail inflation was articles under the 'miscellaneous group' in 2018-19, and for the current financial year so far, food and beverages emerged as the main contributor to retail inflation.

"Among food and beverages, inflation in vegetables and pulses was particularly very high, mainly driven by low base effect and production side disruptions due to untimely rain," observed the Survey. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation has increased to 4.1 per cent during April-December period of the current fiscal, as against 3.7 per cent in the same period of the previous fiscal.

On the other hand, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation fell to 1.5 per cent during the period under consideration from 4.7 per cent in the year-ago period. There was an increase in WPI inflation during 2015-16 and 2018-19, it said.