Government helpless about rising food prices, says Ram Vilas Paswan

NEW DELHI: Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan says he is helpless about rising prices and his ministry does not have enough powers to control them.

“The consumer affairs department does not have any concrete power to check food inflation,” Paswan told journalists. “We have to ask state governments to take action. This can be by imposing stock limits on commodities whose prices are increasing or carrying out raids against hoarders.”

Officials at the food and consumer affairs ministry have been saying that they need more powers to check the prices of essential commodities ranging from pulses to onions. Advance knowledge of a likely shortfall in food production and steps to bridge the gap should be in place with support from the state governments.

“The roles of other ministries from agriculture, finance and commerce is equally important and there needs to be a stronger coordination and a single focal point,” said an official from the food ministry. The official said the agriculture ministry’s advance estimates on food production were very helpful as was the commerce ministry’s role in formulating import and export policies and the finance ministry’s tax structure.

Prices of onions, pulses and tomatoes have risen in recent months amid below-normal monsoon rains for the second year in a row and growing demand during the festive season.

The Consumer Price Index showed retail inflation at 5% in October, accelerating for the third successive month because of higher prices of vegetables and pulses. Retail food inflation was 5.25% last month, up sharply from 3.88% in September. The prices of pulses climbed 33.25% because of a shortfall in production.