Bhubaneswar: The monthly grocery bill is going up for households in Odisha, with prices of everyday essentials adding to woes as the state’s retail inflation climbed to 5.52% in Aug, up sharply from 4.83% in July and well above the national rate of 4.82%, according to Consumer Price Index data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday.Odisha ranked fifth among states with the highest retail inflation, behind Telangana (6.27%), Tamil Nadu (5.92%), Madhya Pradesh (5.55%) and Andhra Pradesh (5.53%). The state’s retail inflation has nearly trebled since Jan, rising from 1.87% to 5.52% in Aug, a 3.65-percentage-point jump. Rural households are facing a sharper price squeeze, with inflation at 5.90% in rural areas compared with 4.47% in urban Odisha.The pressure is particularly visible in the kitchen. Nationally, onions, ginger and garlic recorded among the highest inflation rates in Aug, adding to the cost of everyday cooking.Onions, which were selling at around Rs 20-30 a kg in early July, are now retailing at Rs 60-70 a kg in the twin cities. Wholesale prices in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have climbed to around Rs 50-60 a kg, depending on quality, said Kabiraj Swain, president of the Unit-I Market Vegetable Traders’ Association.“Only vegetables like potatoes, papaya and pumpkin are selling cheap at Rs 10 to Rs 20 per kg in the wholesale market, but the price rises by Rs 10 to Rs 15 when they reach retail points. There are issues related to transportation and wastage and this gets passed on to the consumers,” Swain said. There are seven types of brinjals being sold in markets whose wholesale price ranges between Rs 25 and Rs 40 and this goes up to Rs 50 to Rs 70 in shops.“Eggs, another household staple, have also remained expensive. In the twin cities, a crate of 210 eggs now costs around Rs 1,290, just Rs 10 less than the July price,” Sk Muntaqeem Buksh, a member of the non-veg traders’ association, said.“While the wholesale cost of an egg comes to Rs 6.14 a piece, it is sold for Rs 7 to Rs 8 at shops now. A combination of high feed costs and supply constraints has pushed up egg prices. Maize and soybean meal, which are key components of poultry feed, have become expensive, while strong demand for these crops from the ethanol industry has added to the pressure,” he said.Milk has also become a bigger component of the household budget. Almost all the milk farmers’ cooperatives had raised retail prices of milk by Rs 2 to Rs 4 in May, citing higher processing and transportation costs.Economist Santosh Mohapatra said the Aug inflation figure points to a significant rise in the cost of living in the state. “Food prices are a major factor, while rising transportation and service costs add to household expenditure. Seasonal supply disruptions, erratic weather, dependence on supplies from other states and transportation costs have increased retail prices and inflation,” he said.The pressure is not confined to Odisha. All-India food inflation rose to 5.95% in Aug from 5.52% in July, with onions, ginger, garlic, sugar and chicken among the items that recorded significant price increases.“For Odisha, however, dependence on supplies from other states makes the state particularly vulnerable to such price shocks,” Mohapatra said. Vegetables, fish, eggs and other perishables are routinely transported over long distances, adding to costs and exposing consumers to disruptions in supply.“Our state imports vegetables, fish and other essentials from other states. Even coconuts and bananas are being brought in from outside. It is high time the govt should now think of making the state self-reliant by increasing local production,” Mohapatra said.As far as groceries are concerned, there has been no change in the price of commonly consumed dals like arhar and moong besides, both par-boiled and raw rice. However, there is a slight decline in the rate of sugar which till a month back retailed at Rs 60-64 a kg. It is now Rs 56 a kg.General secretary of Cuttack Chamber of Commerce, Prafulla Kumar Chhatoi, said wholesale rate of moong and arhar are varying between Rs 90-104 and Rs 107-125, respectively. “Both the varieties of rice, too, are selling between Rs 53-60. Retailers usually sell dal and rice at Rs 5 more at their shops,” he added.
