India's food price inflation firms up further to 8.76 per cent

Food price inflation in the country, which bounced back last week, firmed up further to 8.76 per cent during the week ended 16 April 2011 from 8.74 per cent in the previous week.

Food price inflation in the country stood at 19.84 per cent during the comparable week of the previous year.

While the index for the 'food articles' group declined slightly, the prices of foodgrains such as jowar, maize, ragi and barley and some pulses, mutton and milk as also condiments and spices moved up.

Food articles have a weight of 14.34 in the wholesale price index (WPI) of commodities while primary articles have a weight of 20.12, non-food articles a weight of 4.26 and fuel and power group a weight of 14.91.

Build-up of inflation for the `food articles' group so far during the current financial year (beginning 1 April 2011) was 1.73 per cent against 2.13 per cent in the similar period of the previous year.

The index for the 'food articles' group declined 0.2 per cent to 182.6 (provisional) from 182.9 (provisional) during the previous week due to lower prices of fish-fresh water (down 4 per cent), chicken and fish-marine (down 3 per cent each), egg (down 2 per cent) and wheat, gram, masur and arhar (down 1 per cent each). However, the prices of jowar (up 3 per cent), maize (up 2 per cent) and milk, condiments and spices, ragi, barley, urad and mutton (up 1 per cent each) moved up.