WPI has risen due to higher food prices: Mukherjee

India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Monday contended that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has risen due to higher food prices. He said that the food items play a key role in determining the WPI and acknowledged the prices of general commodities have shot up by 40 to 50 percent in the recent past. Prices of vegetables and other kitchen essentials like sugar, ghee, rice and pulses have witnessed a sharp increase as for their price tags.