• Average price of medical services, wheat, kitchen fuels and meat rises
• Vegetables, some pulses, kinnow and milk register decrease in average price

The prices of 27 commodities increased in December 2011 as compared to the preceding month while those of 20 others fell and five remained unchanged. The seasonal effect was reportedly the reason for change in prices of commodities like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, gur, desi shaker, sugarcane, wheat, kinnow, peanuts and eggs.

Twenty seven commodities that included kitchen fuels, some cooked items, wheat, varieties of apples and medical services registered an average price increase of 3%, while 20 commodities, among them vegetables, sweeteners, some pulses and chicken saw an average decrease of 10%. FAFEN collected the prices of 52 commodities from 182 retail outlets across the country on December 10, 2011.

The highest increase of 13% was registered in the price of blood test (complete picture) while those of other observed services like blood sugar and urine tests (routine examinations) each rose by 2%. All the kitchen fuels including kerosene oil, firewood and LPG each registered a price increase of 2%. Among the spices monitored the price of red chili powder went up by 4% and that of salt by 2%. On the other hand, mutton and beef registered a 3% and 1% increase in respective prices.

The price of wheat flour went up by 2% possibly because of the sowing season of the crop across the country. Golden and dark red apples registered a price increase of 7% and 6% respectively. Abundance of kinnow in the market with the onset of winter saw its price fall by 23%. The price of banana also registered a 2% price decrease in December.

The winter season also had an impact on the prices of eggs and peanuts that increased by 9% and 6% respectively, obviously because of increased demand. However, the prices of other poultry products – chicken broiler (live) and chicken broiler (meat) – were down by 6% and 5% respectively. Prices of tomatoes (44%), onions (31%) and potatoes (26%) came down as the harvesting season of the respective crops got underway in December.

All the sugarcane products – sugar, gur and desi shaker – registered a decrease of 16%, 11% and 8% in prices respectively with the harvest of sugarcane continuing across the country. Red beans recorded the biggest price increase of 6%, followed by chickpeas and black gram, each registering a 1% increase.

The prices of moong pulse (2%), gram pulse (2%), white beans (1%), masoor pulse (1%) and mash pulse (1%) came down. Similarly, among condiments, price of turmeric was up 2% while that of ginger fell 8% and garlic by 7%. The prices of plain chapatti and plates of cooked dal and vegetables increased by 1% while a prepared cup of tea and plate of cooked beef each registered a 3% decrease.

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