New Delhi, Dec 14: Bad news for consumers as prices of essential food items like onions and vegetables have skyrocketed in November.
According to government figures released on Thursday, inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) accelerated further to 3.93 percent in November due to a sharp rise in onion prices and costlier seasonal vegetables.
It was 3.59 percent in October this year, and 1.82 percent in November last year. Onion, a kitchen staple, witnessed a whopping 178.19 percent rise in inflation last month on annual basis. For seasonal vegetables too, the rate of price rise accelerated to 59.80 percent, as against 36.61 percent in October. Protein-rich eggs, meat and fish as a category, however, grew at a slower pace of 4.73 percent during the month, against 5.76 in the preceding month. WPI inflation of food articles increased to 6.06 percent last month, as against 4.30 percent in October, as per the data released by the Commerce Ministry. For manufactured goods, it was at 2.61 percent during the month, almost static against 2.62 in the preceding month. Retail inflation, based on Consumer Price Index, hit a 15-month high of 4.88 percent in November, as per the data released last week. "It has become really difficult to run my kitchen, these days. Basic things like vegetables and onions have become very expensive. To run the home, we have reduced consumption of vegetables and onions. "We have four members in our family. My husband is the sole earning member. His salary is around Rs 30,000 a month. We are finding it hard to survive," said Sunita Kumari, a homemaker from Delhi. Echoing similar sentiments, Bengaluru-based homemaker Rakshita P said, "We can't afford to buy onions, fruits and vegetables, these days." Rakshita's husband works in a factory and earns around Rs 25,000 a month. Her family consists of five members. OneIndia News