Food inflation rises to 17.47%

Food inflation soared to 17.47 per cent in the third week of November from 15.58 per cent a week ago, mirroring a shortage in supply that set in following weak monsoon in the country.

With the economy on upswing, analysts said the rising food prices should prompt the government and the Reserve Bank of India to shift their focus on controlling inflation, otherwise it would increase manufacturing inflation as well.

The economy grew by 7.9 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal against 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter, rekindling hopes of a faster and steady recovery.

On a weekly basis, onions turned expensive by over 12 per cent, while it surged by 30.89 per cent on a yearly basis.

Rice and wheat prices also rose over 10 per cent on an year-on-year basis. However, the rise in prices of potatoes that have been surging, declined to 94.17 per cent on yearly basis, against over 100 per cent increase a week ago.

Altogether, inflation of primary articles (items found in raw form) rose to 12.53 per cent during the week ended November 21 against 11.04 per cent in the previous week.

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman, C Rangarajan, has said food prices must be controlled, otherwise they have a tendency to lead to manufacturing inflation.