India's food price inflation sharply down at 8.84 per cent

Food price inflation in the country based on the wholesale price index declined to 8.84 per cent year-on-year during the week ended 10 September 2011, from 9.47 per cent in the previous week, with a fall in the prices of cereals, vegetables and fruits.

A high base effect of the wholesale price based index also contributed to the downward trend. Food price inflation stood at 16.30 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.

Build-up of inflation during the financial year (beginning 1 April 2011) was 9.27 per cent against 9.37 per cent during the comparable week of the previous year.

The index for the 'food articles' group rose 0.2 per cent to 195.7 (provisional) during the week ended 10 September 2011 from 195.4 (provisional) in the previous week due to higher prices of poultry chicken (up 8 per cent), fish-marine (up 6 per cent), gram and urad (up 2 per cent each) and egg, tea, barley, fish-inland, arhar and moong (up 1 per cent each). However, the prices of maize (down 4 per cent), jowar and fruits and vegetables (down 2 per cent each) and bajra, ragi and wheat (down 1 per cent each) declined.

Inflation rate for the `non-food articles' group also declined to 17.42 per cent during the week ended 10 September 2011, from 18.49 per cent in the previous week. It was 18.72 per cent during the similar week of the previous year.

Build-up of inflation for the group during the financial year (beginning 1 April 2011) was -3.29 per cent against 4.85 per cent during the comparable week of the previous year.