Prices of essential commodities steady

New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) Retail prices of essential commodities in four metropolitan cities remained stable or showed mixed trend in the week ending July 27, 2007.

Department of Consumer Affairs had monitored the price trend for the week.

Prices of wheat, rice, tur, mustard oil and milk were steady while that of gram dal, groundnut oil, vanaspati, sugar, tea, potato and sal marginally increased.

Atta price declined by Re one per kg and gram dal price increase by Rupee one at Delhi while the price of groundnut oil declined by Rs two per kg at Chennai and increased by Re one at Delhi.

Vanaspati price increased by Rs two per kg at Kolkata while Sugar price went up by Re one per kg at Chennai.

Tea prices increased by Rs three per kg at Delhia and Rs two per kg at Mumbai.

Salt price improved by kRe one per kg at Mumbai.

At Delhi, prices of rice and milk remained steady for six months, price of salt remained steady for one month and prices of wheat, tur, sugar, mustard oil and vanaspati remained steady for one week.

Prices of gram, groundnut oil, tea (loose) and potato increased during the week.

As on July 24, 2007 public sector agencies have contracted import of 10.38 tonnes of pulses of which 2.30 lakh tonne has already reached the Indian ports. The imported pulses include urad, moong, dunpeas, masoor, chickpeas, yellow peas and channa.

As part of the measures taken by the Government to check rise in prices of edible oils, customs duty on crude palm oil including crude palmolein was reduced from 50 per cent to 45 per cent, refined palm oil including RBD palmolein from 57.5 per cent to 52.5 per cent, soyeabean oil from 45 to 40 per cent, crude sunflower oil from 50 to 40 per cent and refined sunflower oil from 60 to 50 per cent effective from July 17, 2007.

UNI