Govt questions disparity in priceof types of pulses
Data showed that India’s wholesale inflation rose to a 16-month high in June at 3.36% from a year ago, compared to a 2.61% rise in the previous month
The Centre on Tuesday asked retailer associations and supermarket chains why consumer prices of some varieties of pulses had not eased despite declining wholesale prices, pushing them to align retail and bulk rates.
In a meeting consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare had with retailers, officials reiterated the need to strictly comply with limits imposed on how much stock of pigeon pea (tur) and chickpea (chana) traders can hold.
The discussions come amid sticky food inflation, which soared to 9.4% in June, driven mainly by costlier vegetables and pulses, according to latest official data. Inflation in pulses in June stood at 16.07%, a slower pace of growth compared to 17.1% in the previous month.
“Breach of stock limits, unscrupulous speculation and profiteering on the part of market players would invite stern actions from the government,” Khare said.
The consumer affairs ministry, which monitors price movements of 20 essential commodities in 550 market centres, told representatives of retail associations that wholesale rates of pigeon pea, chickpea and black gram showed a decline of 4% in wholesale markets in the past one month, but rates had not declined in retail shops.
“There is a transmission lag between wholesale and retail prices, but in the case of pulses, it should not take more than two weeks for retail rates to fall after a decline in wholesale prices,” an official said, declining to be named.
Khare, the top bureaucrat in the consumer affairs department, told retailers that the diverging trends between wholesale and retail prices seemed to suggest that retailers were deriving higher profit margins.
On June 21, the Centre had imposed caps on the quantities of two varieties of pulses -- pigeon pea and chickpea – that retail shops and traders can store, a measure known as stockholding limit aimed at boosting supplies and curbing prices.
Led by higher prices of vegetables, India’s wholesale inflation rose to a 16-month high in June at 3.36% from a year ago, compared to a 2.61% rise in the previous month, data released by the government on Monday showed.