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Retail prices of wheat and rice rose again to Rs 29.59 per kg and Rs 40.82 per kg in July, the Indian Parliament was informed on Wednesday (July 26, 2023). Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in her written reply in the Lok Sabha said the retail prices of wheat and rice are constantly changing and the government is closely monitoring the prices.
The average retail price of wheat in January was Rs 31.58 per kg, which was reduced to Rs.28.74 per kg in May. Thereafter, the average retail price of wheat has again increased to Rs 29.59 per kg in July, she said.
In the case of rice too, the average retail price has increased to Rs 40.82 per kg in July from Rs 38.09 per kg in January.
The minister said the government has taken various steps from time to time to augment domestic availability and stabilize the prices of essential food commodities.
These steps, inter-alia, include releases of wheat and rice under OMSS(D) from the buffer to cool down prices, imposition of wheat stock limits, monitoring of stocks declared by entities to prevent hoarding, and restrictions on exports of the commodity, she added.
Replying to a similar query, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the retail prices of rice, wheat, and atta have increased on a year-on-year basis by 10.5 percent, 5.2 percent, and 8.5 percent, respectively.
Among vegetables, the all-India average retail price of potato is about 12 percent lower than that of last year, while the price of onion is about 5 percent higher than last year, he said.
The price of tomato has increased in recent weeks on account of a combination of factors like crop seasonality, white fly disease in Kolar, instantaneous arrival of monsoon rains in the northern part of the country, which adversely affected tomato crops in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, and logistics disruptions in isolated areas due to heavy rains, he added.
In order to check the current increase in prices of tomatoes and make it available to consumers at affordable prices, the minister said the government has started the procurement of tomatoes under Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) and is making it available at a highly subsidized rate to consumers.
Source:
Online/GFMM
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