Retail prices of several grocery items, including pulses, flour (aata), edible oils, mutton and dairy products, have increased across India during the lockdown period due to disruption of the supply chain.
Pulses price have increased up to Rs 50 per kg while prices of edible oils has witnessed 10-15 per cent increase in the past two months. Even flour (aata) prices have seen an increase of nearly 20 per cent.
Besides, there is a spike of 10-15 per cent in retail prices of dairy products, butter, cheese, ghee and milk powder across India. Similarly, mutton price has increased from Rs 550 to Rs 700 a kilogram.
There is a huge difference between the retail price of 22 essential commodities put out by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and neighbourhood kirana stores.
In the local kirana stores, average pulses price have increased up to Rs 40-50 a kilogram. Arhar dal prices have increased from Rs 90 in February to Rs 135-150 a kilogram. As per the record of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the price of Arhar dal was Rs 93 per kilogram in Delhi and neighbouring areas before lockdown, which has surged to Rs 106 per kilogram as on May 14.
Similarly, the prices of gam dal rose from Rs 72 per kilogram to Rs 86 per kilogram; masoor dal from Rs 71 per kilogram to Rs 81 per kilogram; moong dal from Rs 90 to Rs 115 per kilogram; mustard oil from Rs 124 per kilogram to Rs 145 and the prices of Soya oil rose from Rs 111 per kilogram to Rs 121 and ground nut oil from Rs 140 to 178 a kilogram.
Mutton, which was being sold at Rs 500-550 a kilogram, is now being sold at Rs 700-800 a kg in meat shops while the same is being sold at Rs 1,100 a kilogram through online. Some variety of wheat flour which was available at Rs 24 a kilogram before lockdown, is now being sold Rs 33-35. According to the Ministry’s data, the average price of atta is Rs 26 a kilogram.
In Mumbai, prices of pulses have witnessed an increase of Rs 10-20 per kilogram during the lockdown. For instance, arhar dal is being sold at Rs 115 per kilogram, an increase of Rs 96 per kilogram since February 15. In Chandigarh, it is selling for Rs 95 per kilogram, up from Rs 76 a kilogram on 20 March. The retail price of urad dal in Gurugram jumped by Rs 30 a kilogram due to panic buying, short supply due to bottlenecks in transportation and hoarding by the unscrupulous traders.
Urad dal that was selling for Rs 108 per kilogram on April 1, 2020 is now priced at Rs 122 a kilogram.
The smaller cities appear to be the worst hit. In the southern States, the price of urad dal has gone up by more than Rs 20 per kilogram after the lockdown. In Coimbatore, the price of urad dal was Rs 104 a kilogram before the lockdown. However, within two weeks it jumped to Rs 132 per kilogram.
During the lockdown, dairy products such as cheese, butter, ice cream have witnessed 10-15 per cent increase in prices.
As per Ministry data, the all-India average wholesale price of major commodities in April showed a mixed trend, compared to the corresponding period in 2019. The Ministry claims that retail prices of pulses have witnessed a sharp rise while the average wholesale prices of wheat, mustard, tomatoes and bananas were lower than last year.
Amid concerns over depleting stock of essential items, the Centre has decided to track the prices of 22 essential food items in 114 cities and other centres more closely and step in where cost goes up by over 15 percent. Though the Centre does not have the power to directly act in such situations, the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry proposes to alert States and districts concerned to respond to the situation so that consumers do not face any hardship during the lockdown when several commodities are scarce.