With food inflation nearing 20 per cent the Indian government is investigating a raft of measures to help rein in the cost of staple foodstuffs such as fruit and vegetables.
The government yesterday held a special meeting to address the issue of food inflation, which rose to 18.3 per cent in the week ended 25 December, reported the Daily News and Analysis. The publication quoted data that showed 75 per cent of this inflation was due to increases in the price of fruit and vegetables.
The meeting was held on the same day vegetable traders threatened to strike at Azadpur Mandi, Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable market, in response to raids by Income Tax Department officials, reported Indian newspaper the Hindu. The government ordered the raids after receiving reports that hoarding by some retailers was pushing up the cost of essentials, such as onions, which have doubled in price in recent months.
According to the newspaper report, traders have demanded an immediate stop to the raids, and denied they are hoarding or profiteering.
Similar industrial action was averted in Nashik on Monday, following intervention by local authorities.
According to a report on website Net Indian, the government is investigating what it sees as a wide gap between the wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities, with the government suggesting individual states should become more involved in monitoring pricing.
“The real challenge is how you reduce the gap between the farm gate prices and the prices which consumers pay, and to a large extent the responsibility also rests with the state governments … because the power to act to take action against profiteers, hoarders and those who speculate `lies` with the state governments,” the governing party’s spokesperson Manish Tewari told the website.
To help address this problem the government has also asked agricultural cooperative Nafed to open more outlets to sell onions to consumers at cheaper rates than are available at the major retail markets.
Another idea floated at yesterday’s government meeting was a scheme to build vegetable farm clusters around major cities, reported the Hindustan Times.
“Under the new scheme, the Centre will fund states to enable vegetable clusters within a 50km radius of major cities that should start producing within a year,” agricultural secretary PK Basu told the newspaper.
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