Wholesale potato and onion prices rose by over 50% prior to the Lok Sabha elections, with the WPI at 0.53% in March
WPI: Wholesale inflation data released by the government shows that ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, wholesale prices of potatoes and onions in the country have increased by more than 50%. At the same time, the based wholesale inflation rate reached 0.53% in March which was 0.20% in February.
The wholesale inflation rate (WPI) increased marginally to 0.5% in March, it was 0.2% in the previous month. Data related to this were released by the government on Monday. According to Commerce Ministry data released on Monday, wholesale price index-based inflation increased to 0.53% on an annual basis in March, which was 0.20% in February.
Wholesale onion prices had increased by 29.22% in February, which increased by 56.99% in March. India may face a major shortage in onion supply till the harvest of the next Kharif crop. Meanwhile, the wholesale price index of potatoes rose by 52.96 per cent in March compared to 15.34 per cent in February. According to the data, in March a year ago, wholesale prices of onion had declined by 36.83% and that of potatoes by 25.59%.
In March 2024, the WPI index changed by 0.40% from February 2024, month over month. After increasing 4.1% year over year in February, wholesale food inflation increased to 4.7% in March. In the meantime, food inflation grew monthly, rising by 1.01% in March following a 0.11% increase in February.
March 2024 will see a positive rate of inflation primarily as a result of rising food, energy, natural gas and crude oil prices, as well as manufacturing and other related costs. Compared to a decrease of 1.19% in the same month the previous year, wholesale inflation in the natural gas and crude petroleum sector climbed by 4.87% in March. In March, there was a decrease of minus 0.77% in the inflation of fuel and electricity.
