Food inflation at 15.46 pc on costlier cereals and milk

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Food inflation advanced to 15.46
per cent in the week ended September 11, as cost of cereals,
select vegetables and milk rose due to supply disruptions
caused by unusually heavy rains in many parts of India.
Week on week, food inflation climbed 0.36 percentage
points from 15.10 per cent on September 4.
This is the fourth consecutive week that the rate of food
prices has risen, although signs of moderation had appeared
in July and stayed on through the first half of August.
Many parts of the country including Delhi, Haryana,
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and the desert
state of Rajasthan have been witnessing torrential rains that
have disrupted supplies of staples.
Annually, cereals prices rose 6.75 per cent driven mainly
by higher prices of pulses, rice and wheat.
While prices of pulses rose 4.01 per cent, wheat and rice
became costlier by 9.21 per cent and 5.52 per cent,
respectively.
Among other food items, milk prices soared 23.41 per cent
during the week compared to the same period last year, while
that of fruits by 10.33 per cent.
Vegetables also became dearer by 6.84 per cent on an
annual basis, while potato and onions became cheaper by 48.56
and 1.97 per cent, respectively. PTI