The six-member Shah family in the national capital is going through a summer of discontent. The volatility in the essential commodities market, mainly trigerred by a countrywide drought, has driven Kasturi Shah’s kitchen bills upwards as prices of certain items have gone up by 20-25 per cent in the last one month. Since the HR consultant-turned-homemaker cannot compromise on essential items like pulses or fruits, she tries to cut down on eating out to keep the family budget under control. Although her husband is the regional head of a multinational bank, Kasturi says their household income and price rise since 2014 have been disproportionate. “The salary increase is never in consonance with the rise in food prices and as a result of this, we have to curtail other expenses like going out for movies, eating out and even shopping for branded clothes,” says Kasturi.
And it is not just pulses that are burning a hole in the aam aadmi’s pocket but soaring prices of items like potato have raised serious concerns.
According to the Price Monitoring Cell of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, potato was selling at Rs 22 per kg in Delhi on May 16. The data shows a jump of Rs 5 per kg from April 1. In Chennai, potato price has gone up by Rs 6 in the last one-and-a-half months, from Rs 19 to Rs 25.
Similarly, sugar prices in Delhi and elsewhere have gone up by Rs 1-7 during the same period. On April 1 in Chandigarh, sugar was selling at Rs 32 per kg and the ministry data shows a rise of Rs 4 within a month.
Although states had carried out surprise inspections and raids to prevent hoarding and black-marketing of pulses, the skyrocketing prices are yet to be tamed. Gram dal prices in Delhi and other cities have gone up by Rs 8, to Rs 22 per kg, in the last four months. The cheaper alternative to tur dal is selling at Rs 81 per kg in the capital, which was Rs 73 in January.
In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, gram dal was selling at Rs 58 per kg on January 1, which has gone up to Rs 80 per kg on May 16.
The price rise has affected the consumer and seller alike. Harish Kumar Gupta, who runs Kashmir General Store at Bhagat Singh Market near Connaught Place, laments a dent in his business due. “Seceral of my customers have stopped buying tur/urad dal, for they are so expensive. They say that they won’t die by not eating these pulses. Customers are either skipping these dals or eating them less; for example, if earlier they consumed it twice a week, they now eat dal once a fortnight. So, they buy only 500 gm instead of 1 kg earlier,” says 55-year-old Gupta, whose father and son are also in the same business.
To increase availability and prevent hoarding of pulses, the Central Government had in October last amended the Central Order under Essential Commodities Act, 1955. This had enabled imposition of stock limits for importers, exporters and food processing industry. According to data, it worked at some places, but remains the most fluctuating commodity in the retail market. While in Delhi, prices of tur dal have gone down by Rs 4 per kg in the last four months, cities like Kanpur, Ranchi and Meerut have seen a jump of Rs 5-15 per kg.
Gupta admits there has been some correction, but that is nothing compared to 20-25 per cent rise in prices. For example, urad dal soared to Rs 174 per kg in Delhi, an increase of Rs 30 since January. In Kolkata, it has gone up by Rs 20 in the last four months.
According to retailers, prices of other essential commodities, especially desi ghee, have increased Rs 50-70 in last two months. “Price rise has badly impacted retailers’ profit margin as demand comes down. Take sugar. A few months back, it was at Rs 34-35 per kg and is now selling at Rs 40. So my margin from Rs 2-4 per kg has reduced to Rs 1 or less,” Gupta adds.
Certain commodities such as tomato have been impacted by weather-induced supply shock or relief in some areas. Those in Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow may save some money on the vegetable but people in Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are shelling out more for it. For example, tomato prices went down to Rs 5-15 in north India but went up in western cities like Raipur, where it is up by Rs 22 and selling at Rs 32, and in Chennai, it’s gone up by Rs 36 and selling at Rs 45 per kg. Similarly, onion prices have gone down in Delhi by Rs 3 in the last one month but it is up by Rs 2-5 in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and southern states.
with Richa Sharma and Sreeparna Chakrabarty