May wholesale food inflation eases to 2.31%

New Delhi: India's annual WPI Food Index eased to 2.31 per cent in May from a rise of 3.60 per cent in April, official data showed on Monday. However, the Centre did not release the complete set of WPI figures for May, due to the Covid-19 outbreak and its impact on data collection.

Besides, the data showed that overall WPI recorded a fall of 3.21 per cent in May 2020 from 0.42 per cent rise in March. In a note, the Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, said: "Due to limited information available for the month of April 2020, the provisional figures of May 2020 are compared with final figures of March 2020."

The official Wholesale Price Index for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of May 2020 declined by (-2.24 per cent) to 117.7 (provisional) from 120.4 (final) for the month of March 2020, it added.

On a sequential basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI's total weightage, declined 2.92 per cent in May from 0.79 per cent in April.

"The index for this major group declined by (-0.87 per cent) to 136.2 (provisional) in May 2020 from 137.4 (final) for the month of March 2020," the statement said.

"Prices of 'Food Articles' (0.73 per cent) increased whereas prices of 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' (-23.18 per cent) and 'Non Food Articles' (-1.44 per cent) declined as compared to March 2020." Furthermore, manufactured products' WPI showed a decline of 0.42 per cent in May from 0.25 per cent in March.