Inflation peaks to 3-year high

New Delhi: Onion literally brought tears to the eyes of consumers as retail prices touched Rs 200 per kilogram and tomato too turned pricier in the last quarter of 2019, leaving many scurrying for changes in dietary ways as costly food items pushed retail inflation to a more than three-year high.

Though well below the price jump seen for the humble 'daily consumable bulb' and tomato, potato also became costlier as crop damages and disruptions stoked supply crunch.

Albeit for a brief period during monsoon and afterwards, retail price of tomato went up to Rs 80 per kg. Though trailing behind in the price race, potato joined its buddies of the 'TOP' priority grouping, selling for as high as Rs 30 a kg in retail market for some time in December due to supply disruptions before moderating to the current level of around Rs 20-25 a kg.

Costlier vegetables slowly pushed retail inflation, which had remained well within the Reserve Bank's comfortable level of 4 per cent during most part of 2019, peaked to more than three-year high of 5.54 per cent in November.

Tomato, Onion, Potato (TOP) have been accorded 'TOP' priority by Central government in 2018-19 Union Budget and a Rs 500 crore Operation Greens was okayed in November last year to boost production and processing of these three commodities to check price volatility in these key kitchen staples.

For most part of 2019, the government was successful in price control, but the party seemed to have lost the sheen later in the year, thanks to 'TOP' and other food items.

Government action to rein-in rising onion prices came in very late, which contracted to import bulk supplies of onion from markets such as Egypt, Turkey and Afghanistan.

Even as supplies have been hitting the Indian shores on a daily basis, onion continues to rule at over Rs 130 a kg in various retail domestic markets, potato at Rs 20-30 a kg, while tomato has come down to around Rs 30-40 per kg.

Add to this, garlic prices have now started to spike, touching as high as Rs 30-40 for a mere 100 gram.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which mainly gauges the retail inflation to arrive on its bi-monthly monetary policies, has set a medium-term target for Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.

In its monetary policy review in December, it raised the retail inflation projection to 5.1-4.7 per cent for the second half of 2019-20 mainly on costlier onion, fruits, pulses, milk and cereals, from 3.5-3.7 per cent projected earlier. For the first half of next fiscal too, it has raised the projection to 4-3.8 per cent.

Retail inflation hovered mainly in the range of 2-3.30 per cent during January to August and started to move up steadily post monsoon as crop damage due to unseasonal rains hurt the supplies in a big way.