Food inflation up to 16.44%

The annual rate of food inflation, which declined to 16.04 per cent for the previous week, was expected to decline further in the face of arrival of winter crops in the market. Experts are of the view that food inflation might cool down in coming months if prediction of ‘normal monsoon’ as predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) comes true.

As country’s agricultural production is heavily dependent on rainfall, normal Monsoon will boost up farm production thereby easing supply constraints on availability of food grains and vegetables, which in turn will ease the pressure on ongoing price rise.