From tomato to milk, along with edible oils and transport fuels, prices of daily essentials have elevated in the country. The current price rise has badly affected the financial health of ordinary middle-class families in India.
“The trend has impacted the savings of even the well-off in the country. The biggest impact is the fall in the purchasing power of the fixed-income groups. They can now buy less compared to what they were buying earlier” – said IANS report.
Rising Vegetable Prices
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A sharp rise in the vegetable prices across the country is a result of rains in the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, a rise in fuel prices also added to that.
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Reports about the rise of vegetable prices in various cities are consistent in the media on daily basis, for example – according to a report by Indiatimes.com, the tomato has crossed the mark of Rs 120/kg in many cities.
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Rahul Kumar, who commutes to Noida on his two-wheeler to his workplace, says that “rise in petrol prices exhausts my monthly income rather help me accumulate his savings.”
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He added – “the rise in petrol prices to above Rs 100 per litre, of tomatoes at Rs 80 per kg, besides ever-rising rents could not have come at a worse time since we are already having pay cuts.”
Rising Fuel Prices
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Some items of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI), like fuel costs, have risen, even when CPI-indexed inflation has come down to 6 percent which is in the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank of India.
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“A rise in fuel rates typically impacts overall freight and transportation costs. Any rise in fuel costs bumps-up prices of nearly all essential items because of a second-round effect” – says the latest IANS report.
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Chabilal Das, a middle-aged daily essential supplier in Noida said – “The high spend on petrol due to exorbitant prices itself depletes my income. There has been no savings or investments for at least the last two years.”
Similarly, Anil Kumar, a Delhi-based cab driver says that – “rising fuel prices have hurt his cost-to-income margins. “Rising fuel prices have hurt us the most as we need to pay EMIs of our vehicle loans, which becomes difficult due to a fall in real income. This pandemic has hit us hard.”
Acute Ratings and Research’s Chief Analytical Officer Suman Chowdhury says – “India’s headline inflation at 5.5 percent for overall FY22 fiscal, and at 6 percent in particular for Q4FY22.”
“Some categories in the food basket have seen heightened inflation in the current year which includes edible oil, egg, meat, and fish and pulses. Further, the sharply increased prices of petrol and diesel have also increased household expenditures with the unlocking of the economy” – he added.
“The rising trend of the prices is expected to go on for a few more days. The consumers have to face the ultimate brunt”- IANS said.
