Lok Sabha Question No. 314 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: Prices of Essential Commodities
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Com. Selvaraj V, Shri Subbarayan K

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

## Government of India Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 314

TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## PRICES OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES

314. COM. SELVARAJ V: SHRI SUBBARAYAN K:

## Will  the  Minister  of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  prices  of  essential  commodities  particularly  the  food  items  like vegetables, edible oils, pulses etc. has been on the rise for the last few months;
- (b) if so, the details of the prices of essential commodities month-wise during the year 2023 and 2024 so far; and
- (c) the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  control  the  prices  of  essential  commodities  in  the country?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h (श्री बी.एल. वर्मा )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L.VERMA)

- (a) & (b) :   The all-India average retail prices groundnut oil, vanaspati, sunflower oil, soya oil, palm oil, moong  dal  and  masur  dal  as  on  19.07.2024  have  declined  on  a  month-on-month  basis.  The  all-India average retail prices of onion, potato, tomato, mustard oil, gram dal, tur dal and urad dal have increased on a month-on-month basis. Monthly average retail prices of 22 food commodities during 2023 and 2024 are given at Annexure .
- (c) :    The Government takes, from time to time, various measures to control the prices of essential commodities. In order to control the volatility in prices of agri-horticultural commodities, the Government set up Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) for strategic market interventions. Under PSF, buffer stock of pulses and onion has been maintained for price stabilization. The procurement  for the buffer gives support to farmers and calibrated release of stocks from the buffer are undertaken to cool down prices.

In  order  to  make  dal,  atta  and  rice  available  to  consumer  at  affordable  prices,  the  Government introduced  Bharat  Dal,  Bharat  Atta  and  Bharat  Rice.  Bharat  Dal  has  been  launched  in  July,  2023  by converting  Chana  stock  in  the  PSF  into  Chana  dal  for  retail  disposal.  The  Bharat  Chana  Dal  is  made available to the consumers at subsidized rates of Rs.60 per kg for 1 kg pack and Rs.55 per kg for 30 kg pack. About 11.37 lakh MT of Bharat Chana Dal has been sold to retail consumers till 19.07.2024. The Bharat Dal has been extended to include Bharat Moong Dal, Masur dal.

Retail sale of Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice was launched for increasing supplies in the market at affordable rates and helping in continued moderation of prices of these food items. Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice were sold at subsidized rates of Rs.27.50 per kg and Rs.29/kg., respectively with the subsidies being borne from the Price Stabilisation Fund.

The  Government  has  procured  about  4.24  lakh  tons  Rabi-2024  onions  under  PSF,  till  date,  for subsequent release in the market during the lean months to stabilize prices.

In order to augment domestic availability, import of Tur and Urad under 'Free' regime has been allowed till 31st March 2025 and the import duty on Masur has been reduced to zero till 31 st March, 2025. Import  of  Yellow  peas  has  been  allowed  from  8 th December,  2023  till  31st  October  2024  to  augment supply of pulses. Further, the import of desi Chana at zero duty has been allowed from 4 th May, 2024 till 31 st March 2025.

In  order to  control  the  rise  in  prices  of  onion,  the  Government  took  series  of  action.  In  August, 2023 export duty of 40% was imposed to enhanced domestic availability. When export surged  against increasing  international  prices,  MEP  of  US  $  800  per  MT  was  imposed  in  October,  2023  and  then prohibition  of  onion  export  from  December,  2023.  Thereafter,  export  had  been  allowed  from  4 th May, 2024 with 40% duty and MEP of US $ 550 USD to ensure domestic availability of onion and keep prices under control. To ensure sufficient availability of sugar for domestic consumers at reasonable price, the export of sugar has been kept under 'restriction' till further orders.

To prevent hoarding, stock limits have been imposed on Tur and desi Chana from 21st June 2024 till  30th  September  2024.  In  order  to  manage  the  overall  food  security  and  to  prevent  hoarding  and unscrupulous speculation, the Government imposed stock limits on wheat from 24 th June  2024 till  31st March 2025.

Price  control  measures  taken  by  Government  together  with  robust  progress  in  sown  area  under  Kharif pulses this year (2024-25) have stabilised the market and the prices of Chana, Tur and Urad in major mandis had declined by up to 4% in past one month.

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 314 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024 REGARDING PRICES OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES.

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## All-India Average Monthly Retail Prices of 22 Food Commodities

| Commodities            |   Jan-23 |   Feb-23 |   Mar-23 | Apr-23      | May-23   |   Jun-23 |   Jul-23 |   Aug-23 |   Sep-23 |   Oct-23 |   Nov-23 |   Dec-23 |   Jan-24 |   Feb-24 |   Mar- 24 |   Apr-24 |   May-24 |   Jun-24 |
|------------------------|----------|----------|----------|-------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|-----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Rice                   |    38.09 |    38.63 |    38.82 | 39.04 39.22 |          |    39.74 |    40.73 |    41.5  |    42.17 |    42.59 |    43.03 |    43.38 |    43.62 |    44.1  |     44.28 |    44.35 |    44.5  |    44.85 |
| Wheat                  |    32.79 |    33.21 |    32.21 | 31.32 31.27 |          |    31.67 |    31.96 |    32.31 |    32.66 |    32.93 |    33.64 |    33.72 |    33.76 |    33.88 |     33.69 |    33.51 |    33.49 |    33.67 |
| Atta (Wheat)           |    37.51 |    37.8  |    37.07 | 36.55 36.42 |          |    36.95 |    37.18 |    37.71 |    38.08 |    38.31 |    38.98 |    38.98 |    38.93 |    38.98 |     38.91 |    38.77 |    38.7  |    38.75 |
| Gram Dal               |    72.49 |    72.36 |    72.6  | 73.33       | 73.97    |    74.47 |    74.8  |    76.39 |    80.48 |    82.42 |    83.45 |    83.43 |    82.83 |    82.85 |     83.6  |    83.84 |    84.93 |    87.62 |
| Tur/Arhar Dal          |   111.46 |   111.65 |   113.47 | 116.44      | 119.24   |   126.89 |   134.13 |   138.09 |   146.29 |   151.63 |   155.2  |   154.68 |   150.47 |   149.1  |    149.2  |   150.93 |   155.11 |   161.11 |
| Urad Dal               |   107.13 |   106.72 |   107.17 | 108.21      | 109.33   |   111.46 |   113.63 |   115.03 |   117.22 |   118.95 |   122.37 |   123.04 |   122.54 |   123.1  |    123.8  |   124.22 |   125.38 |   126.75 |
| Moong Dal              |   103.44 |   104.22 |   105.06 | 107.1       | 108.36   |   109.36 |   110.49 |   111.29 |   113.63 |   115.56 |   116.54 |   116.48 |   116.13 |   116.4  |    117.2  |   117.6  |   118.03 |   118.81 |
| Masoor Dal             |    94.19 |    93.13 |    92.78 | 92.96       | 92.59    |    92.01 |    92    |    92.02 |    93.41 |    94.14 |    94.25 |    94.11 |    93.66 |    93.5  |     93.4  |    93.33 |    93.42 |    94.16 |
| Groundnut Oil (Packed) |   189.54 |   188.82 |   189.18 | 190.52      | 190.77   |   190.7  |   191.14 |   191.9  |   192.19 |   192.42 |   193.02 |   192.27 |   190.88 |   189.7  |    189.1  |   188.98 |   188.55 |   188.42 |
| Mustard Oil (Packed)   |   173.92 |   171.15 |   167.27 | 163.21      | 159.47   |   154.23 |   150.97 |   150.92 |   149.87 |   148.38 |   148.73 |   148.05 |   146.63 |   146    |    145.7  |   145.62 |   145.56 |   147.12 |
| Vanaspati (Packed)     |   138.63 |   136.72 |   135    | 132.87      | 132.26   |   131.01 |   129.72 |   129.26 |   128.35 |   126.98 |   126.76 |   126.08 |   125.12 |   124.8  |    125.1  |   125.84 |   126.22 |   126.23 |
| Soya Oil (Packed)      |   153.54 |   151.02 |   148.21 | 144.91      | 141.1    |   136.84 |   134.37 |   133.35 |   131.11 |   128.57 |   128.24 |   127.97 |   126.85 |   126.7  |    126.8  |   127.71 |   127.36 |   127.1  |
| Sunflower Oil (Packed) |   172.82 |   168.69 |   164.65 | 160.91      | 156.56   |   151.4  |   147.84 |   146.53 |   144.41 |   141.86 |   140.44 |   139.96 |   139.01 |   138.4  |    137.9  |   138.47 |   138.12 |   137.92 |
| Palm Oil (Packed)      |   118.23 |   115.51 |   115.42 | 114.81      | 113.26   |   110.53 |   109.03 |   108.3  |   107.36 |   105.66 |   104.99 |   104.32 |   103.36 |   103.2  |    104    |   105.9  |   105.24 |   104.73 |
| Potato                 |    23.21 |    20.86 |    19.13 | 19.13       | 20.46    |    21.63 |    23.65 |    24.29 |    24.32 |    24.42 |    24.95 |    24.01 |    22.67 |    22.01 |     23.35 |    26.45 |    28.95 |    31.61 |
| Onion                  |    26.97 |    25.41 |    23.27 | 22.3        | 21.97    |    22.9  |    26.51 |    29.86 |    33.38 |    37.26 |    58.99 |    50.95 |    37.95 |    32.79 |     32.66 |    31.47 |    31.46 |    36.33 |
| Tomato                 |    24.72 |    23.45 |    23.32 | 23.16       | 23.61    |    32.58 |   109.5  |   102.02 |    38.81 |    29.3  |    39.48 |    38.38 |    32.43 |    32.32 |     31.67 |    32.4  |    32.72 |    42.23 |
| Sugar                  |    41.83 |    41.72 |    41.61 | 41.92       | 42.38    |    42.72 |    42.99 |    43.18 |    43.57 |    43.96 |    44.62 |    44.68 |    44.53 |    44.42 |     44.28 |    44.33 |    44.57 |    44.79 |
| Gur                    |    48.44 |    48.2  |    48.34 | 48.7        | 49.28    |    50.36 |    51.28 |    51.9  |    52.75 |    53.11 |    53.14 |    52.59 |    52.6  |    52.61 |     52.48 |    52.68 |    53.2  |    54.02 |
| Milk (Rs./Ltr.)        |    55.77 |    55.98 |    56.33 | 56.7        | 57.04    |    57.48 |    57.78 |    57.97 |    58.21 |    58.36 |    58.38 |    58.34 |    58.44 |    58.47 |     58.56 |    58.67 |    58.71 |    59.03 |
| Tea Loose              |   276.5  |   274.54 |   275.11 | 275.66      | 274.56   |   275.8  |   276.38 |   277.64 |   277.62 |   278.09 |   279.5  |   279    |   279.92 |   280.5  |    280.2  |   279.67 |   279.65 |   278.07 |
| Salt Pack (Iodised)    |    21.47 |    21.66 |    21.72 | 21.9        | 21.95    |    21.92 |    22.04 |    22.26 |    22.27 |    22.34 |    22.38 |    22.46 |    22.46 |    22.47 |     22.46 |    22.48 |    22.44 |    22.51 |

(Rs/Kg)