Prices of essential commodities remain stable: Centre amid West Asia crisis

New Delhi: The Centre said on Monday that prices of essential commodities remain stable despite the West Asia conflict hitting fuel supply, with no unusual volatility, and that it is closely monitoring wholesale and retail markets across the country.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has set up a control room to have a seamless and continuous interaction with states regarding prices as well as hoarding.

The Department is also closely monitoring on the food security situation in the country, Anupam Mishra, Additional Secretary in Department of Consumer Affairs, told media here.

The government also said that it has sufficient stocks of wheat and rice to meet the requirement of the public distribution system (PDS) and also any exigencies.

Mishra said the department gets prices of 40 commodities on a daily basis from 528 centres across India. The wholesale and retail prices are updated on a mobile app.

"So far, no unusual volatility has been observed and prices remain stable for most commodities, indicating adequate availability. There is no evidence of generalised supply stress or inflationary transmission in essential food commodities, " he said.

On the supply side, he said the production of pulses this year is higher than the previous year. The government has a 28 lakh tonnes of buffer stock of pulses. Imports of tur and urad have been allowed under free category till March 2027. In case of onion, potato and tomato, Mishra said the production of all these three crops is almost at the same level as in the previous year.

C Shikha, joint secretary in Department of Food and Public Distribution, said the Centre has "adequate buffer stock of both wheat and rice, almost three times the buffer stock norms." She said there is a stock of 222 lakh tonnes of wheat and around 380 lakh tonnes of rice.

"So, this is quite enough to take care of PDS requirement as well as any emergency requirement," the joint secretary said.

In both wheat and rice, she said there is absolutely no hike in prices for over last one year.

"Domestic availability of edible oil remains comfortable despite global uncertainties. Imports from key partners are continuing steadily. Our key partners include Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, Argentina and Brazil," she said, adding that mustard production has strengthened domestic supply.

"The government will continue to monitor this closely and will intervene if required," she said. India imports more than 50 per cent of its edible oil requirement. The retail price of sugar has also remained stable.