Food inflation rises to double-digit; onion, fruits stoke price rise

Food inflation entered the double-digit number after a gap of five months, at 10.05% for the week ended August 20, as onion, fruits, vegetables and protein-based items turned more expensive.

Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was 9.80% in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items was over 15% during the same week last year.

This is the first time food inflation entered the double-digit mark since the week ended March 12, when it was at the same figure of 10.05%.

As per the official data released on Thursday, prices of onion soared by 57.01% year-on-year, while of potato by 13.31% during the week under review.

Fruits became dearer by 21.58% and vegetables overall by 15.78 on an annual basis.

The prices of egg, meat and fish were up 12.62%, while milk and cereals became dearer by 9.22% and 4.64%, respectively.

However, pulses became cheaper by 4.16% and wheat by 2.52% year-on-year.

Overall, primary articles recorded 12.93% inflation for the week ended August 20, up from 12.40% in the previous week. Primary articles have a share of over 20% in the WPI.

However, inflation in non-food articles, which include fibres, oilseeds and minerals, stood at 17.19%, down from 17.80% in the previous week.