Food inflation inches up to 9.13% for week ended September 17

New Delhi, Sep 29: Food inflation jumped to 9.13 per cent for the week ended September 17 from 8.84 per cent in the previous week, mainly due to a rise in prices of potatoes, pulses and poultry.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed the rise in food inflation as an area of "grave concern".

While prices of onions eased marginally during the week, gram, masoor, arhar, urad and poultry rates firmed up on an annual basis, as per Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the government today.

Potato prices, too, firmed up by about 15 per cent on an annual basis. However, as a whole, inflation in the fruit and vegetable segments eased during the week under review vis-a-vis the same period last year.

In the week ended September 10, food inflation had declined to 8.84 per cent from 9.47 per cent in the previous week.

"These fluctuations are taking place and it is one of the areas of grave concern," Mukherjee told reporters, adding, "(Food inflation)... is perilously close to double digits."

As per the WPI data, inflation in cereals, milk, eggs, meat and fish also eased to 13.17 per cent during the week under review.

Overall, inflation in primary articles stood at 11.43 per cent for the week ending September 17, compared to 12.17 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles constitute over 20 per cent of the WPI basket.

PTI