Food inflation declined marginally, but was still high at 9.32% for the week ended October 1 as prices of major kitchen staples continued to pinch consumers' pockets.
Food inflation, as measured on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 9.41% in the previous week. The rate of price rise in food items stood at 17.14% in the corresponding week of 2010.
The fall in food inflation could be attributed to a moderation in the rate of price rise for some of the items on a week-on-week basis, even though they remained higher on an annual basis.
The fall could also be attributed to the high inflation rate of 17% in the corresponding year-ago period, a phenomenon dubbed the 'high base effect' in economic parlance.
As per data released by the government today, vegetable prices shot up by 13.01%, with prices of potatoes rising by 3.79% on an annual basis, during the week under review.
In addition, milk became 10.35% costlier and fruit prices rose by 12.19%. Protein-based items like eggs, meat and fish also became 9.92% more expensive on an annual basis. Cereals turned dearer by 5.41%, rice by 5.86% and pulses by 6.87% annually.
However, onion prices declined by 10.15% on an annual basis and wheat by 0.24%.
{{/usCountry}}However, onion prices declined by 10.15% on an annual basis and wheat by 0.24%.
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