THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The prices of essential food items in Kerala spiked to a new high in June and the state is ranked fifth in the country in food inflation, according to the latest data on retail inflation or consumer price index(CPI) released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday.
The ‘Food and Beverages’ basket in the CPI increased from 188.6 points in May to 194 points in June for the state. Retail inflation is seen higher in the state at 5.25 per cent as against the national average of 4.81 per cent. In May CPI for the state stood at 4.48 per cent.
The ‘Food and Beverages’ basket holds a weightage of 45.86 per cent in determining the CPI. After a brief period of stability, consumer prices in four out of six categories used to calculate the CPI resumed their upward trend in June. The National Statistical Office (NSO) calculates the inflation rate based on prices in six baskets: ‘food and beverages’, ‘pan, tobacco and intoxicants’, ‘clothing and footwear’, ‘housing’, ‘fuel and light’, and ‘miscellaneous’.
In June, the index for the ‘food and beverages’ basket in Kerala was 194, while the national figure was 183. This index is calculated based on the prices of 12 categories of food items such as cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy products.
The ‘fuel and light’ basket includes energy products like LPG, kerosene, and electricity. Kerala’s CPI for this basket was 206.6 in June, compared to the national figure of 182.9.
The index for the ‘housing’ basket, determined by rental prices in urban areas, was 182 in Kerala, while the national figure was 174.4. The index for the ‘pan, tobacco, and intoxicants’ basket in Kerala was 210.1, while the national figure was 201.4.
The MoSPI calculates the country’s inflation rate based on data from 22 major states. In June, Kerala reported the seventh-highest retail inflation in the country.
Food Inflation Indices (in points):
Lakshadweep- 203.6
Telangana- 199.1
Puducherry- 196.2
Andaman and Nicobar- 195.8
Kerala- 194