Consumers are bracing for higher grocery bills as kitchen staples such as onions, cooking oil, sugar, rice, and several pulses have registered sharp price increases over the past year, even as prices for potatoes and tomatoes remain subdued.
The all-India average retail price rose to ₹ 54.13 a kg on September 24, almost double the ₹ 27.21 a year ago, according to data maintained by the Department of Consumer Affairs. Wholesale prices more than doubled to ₹ 4,617 a quintal from ₹ 2,107. Retail onion prices have also risen 24% in a month.
“The recent rise in food prices is not a broad-based demand-led food inflation story.
It is primarily a combination of supply shocks, weather disruption and geopolitical conflict-led price spike in a few important commodities,” said Pushan Sharma, director-research, Crisil Intelligence.
The retail price is ₹ 56.70/kg, up 22% from ₹ 46.46 a year ago. The Centre has cut the stockholding limit for sugar dealers from 4,000 quintals to 2,000 quintals until November 30 to curb hoarding and speculative trading. It is also procuring pulses under its price-support programme to strengthen domestic supplies. Sugar has recorded one of the sharpest annual increases in the kitchen basket. It has also been monitoring stocks at mills, dealers and traders. Sharma expects sugar prices to remain firm in the near term before easing as the sugarcane harvest peaks from October to November.
“Among the crops showing a price spike, edible oil could be more persistent than others given the continuation of the West Asia conflict, as well as key suppliers such as Indonesia diverting an increasing share of their palm oil production towards biodiesel over the years,” Sharma said. The government has kept imports of tur and urad in the “free” category until March 31, 2027.
