Price of rice, dal, other essentials costs more this year

CHENNAI: Monthly budget of a household seems to move north every few months, and it’s certainly higher now than it was last year, which impacts lower and middle-income families.

“Inflation affects every citizen, irrespective of the nature of job and income. And, inflation for a prolonged period affects the common man by reducing his purchasing power. This leads to lower consumption, resulting in decrease in topline and bottom line for companies,” opined Va Nagappan, an economist.

RBI has been constantly cautioning the government of inflation. Hope they ensure this kind of high food inflation is short lived and reversal happens faster. Next couple of months until the budget is crucial,” he added.

From September 7, for instance, when India celebrated Vinayaga Chaturthi, the wholesale price of 1-litre sunflower oil was around Rs 100. But now, it’s around Rs 145.

“There has been a 22% import tax imposed by the government. A private company is the monopoly in the oil market which indirectly determines the rate and the rate fluctuations in the oil are according to that,” explained MB Robin, a wholesale oil merchant in Koyambedu. “We had expected the price to come down but the opposite has happened.”

Any price rise affects denizens but those who are the hardest hit are daily wage workers. “The increase in price of essential commodities forces them to reduce consumption. The government should take steps to maintain the rates,” stated R Ramesh, a resident of Washermanpet.

“Instead, they claim that in stores like Amudham, dal and rice are sold at a subsidised rate. Yes, they are but of poor quality. So, a large number of people depend on private stores and the price hike affects their monthly budget.”

Sellers attribute increase in price of rice and dal to supply shortage of products and exports – both of which have reduced leading to an unstable market pricing.