Food prices on PM’s menu today

“Prices of rice,wheat and pulses are quite stable now but vegetable prices remain high …vegetable prices are high and on that we do not have any control,” Pawar told reporters today,underlining the government’s helplessness in tackling the issue. He,however,expressed hope that the prices will come down over the next few days with arrival of onions in the mandis.

“A new (onion) crop has started coming from Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Maharashtra,which is a good sign. The impact on retail prices will be seen eventually,” Pawar told reporters informing that the strike called by the onion traders in Nashik has been called off.

While the issue of high vegetable prices is likely to top the agenda,the meeting on Tuesday may also re-consider the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decision to hike food grain prices for above poverty line (APL) families by about 40 per cent along with food ministry’s another decision allowing export of 5 lakh tonnes of sugar.

“In general,all these issues (food prices and allowing export of agri-items) may be discussed in the meeting. I will myself try to raise all these issues because there has to be a collective view,” Pawar said.

While the food ministry has kept the CCEA decision of hiking the APL food grain prices in abeyance,a Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary last week had asked the food ministry to go slow on the export of sugar prices given the prevailing food inflation situation in the country.