Attributing steep rise in
onion prices as one of the reasons for high
food inflation , Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said government is taking steps to check price rise.
"I am afraid as there has been some upward movement of food items, certain other items in WPI inflation index. Of course the weekly fluctuation takes place and one of the reasons may be the high prices of onions, for which we have taken steps," Mukherjee told reporters in Delhi.
Food inflation rose to 12.13 per cent for the week ending December 11 as prices of onion, milk and vegetables continued to rise. It returned to the double-digit level after a gap of four weeks.
Onion prices have skyrocketed in recent days, as Maharashtra, the main producing centre, saw the crop damaged due to unseasonal rains.
The wholesale onion prices rose 4.56 per cent during the week ended December 11.
"(Onion) exports have been banned, import duty has been reduced to zero and I understand that imports are also being organised so that availability will be there," Mukherjee said.
Continuing battle against onion prices, which touched Rs 70-80 a kg in the last few days, a Committee of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, met on Thursday morning to take stock of the situation.
The Government on Wednesday undertook multi-pronged measures to check high onion prices. This included removal of import duties, an indefinite ban on exports and asking state agencies MMTC, STC and PEC to import the commodity.
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