Food inflation: Congress asks govt to act on black-marketers, assess essential items’ stock in cold storages

The Congress has demanded that the government immediately act on black-marketers of food items, assess stock of essential items lying in cold storages and push sufficient stock in the markets to control the prices.

“Consumer Food Price Inflation (CPFI) has been consistently high for the last few months, both in the Urban and Rural areas. The overall CFPI had been over 9% for July 2020 and August 2020 but has breached the 10% in September 2020,” party spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh said in a press briefing on Sunday.

“As if the common man was not suffering enough through job losses, income uncertainty, the government has been ignorant and blatantly incompetent in controlling inflation. Where the government should be exploring avenues to provide support to the people and boost consumption, it is on a lookout to extract as much from the common man and leave them helpless,” he added.

Here is the full text of the briefing:

The festive season is here but it is not only COVID-19 that is denting the spirits of the common man. With almost no fiscal stimulus, the economy is struggling to get back to track. As if the common man was not suffering enough through job losses, income uncertainty, the government has been ignorant and blatantly incompetent in controlling inflation. Where the government should be exploring avenues to provide support to the people and boost consumption, it is on a lookout to extract as much from the common man and leave them helpless.

The government was particularly ignorant and oblivious to the needs of the people regarding high fuel prices even when the crude oil prices in the international market had dipped significantly. For the last few months, they have turned their attention to the food prices. Consumer Food Price Inflation (CPFI) has been consistently high for the last few months, both in the Urban and Rural areas. The overall CFPI had been over 9% for July 2020 and August 2020 but has breached the 10% in September 2020.

--The inflation rate for vegetables in September 2020 was 22.71% and for pulses and products it was 13.69%

--The current prices of potato are the highest in the last 130 months or close to 10 years

--The big question is what brought us here? What was the government doing to control all of this? By the looks of it, NOTHING. The government’s incompetence and inaction is evident from the fact that while we exported 1.23 lakh tonnes of potatoes to nations like Saudi Arabia, Oman, Myanmar and others in 2019-20, we ourselves have a supply shortage

--According to Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmer Welfare, there were 238.5 lakh tonne potatoes in the cold storages in 2018-19 that has come down to 214.25 lakh tonne in 2019-2020

--There are 30 lakh tonnes of potatoes lying in cold storages across Uttar Pradesh, out of which 22 lakh tonnes was meant for the markets. The government is now forcing the farmers to take out these stocks by 31st October, instead of 30th November. On the one hand the government has been crying out loud that farmers will now be able to sell their produce anywhere, anytime; on the other hand forcing farmers to take potatoes out of cold storage and sell their produce.

--In January 2020, we imported 46,000 tonnes of onions to control the rates in our domestic market. Out of this, 32,000 tonnes or close to 70% went rotten in the godowns and wasn’t even allowed to go to market. Was black marketing and illegal hoarding the reason for it?

--As far as services are concerned, at a time when normal trains aren’t functioning, running trains in the name of special trains with increased fares and operating festival special trains with fares that are 25%-30% is another means of extracting money from the common man instead of supporting them.

--SBI has also introduced multiple charges on ATM withdrawals, multi-city cheque books, transactions at branches amongst a few. Is the government sleeping or isn’t bothered and hence overlooking all these steps?

I have five specific questions for the government:

1. Why was no proper planning done before exporting our potato stock when there is a supply crunch in our domestic market?

2. Does the government even have the knowledge that there is Potato stock lying in cold storages across UP, and why is the Government not pushing that stock to the market?

3. Why did the Government let 32,000 tonnes of onion stock to rot in the warehouses when we imported the stock to boost our supply? What is the reason for this negligence?

4. Why did the government allow their businessmen friends to export and are now pressurizing the farmers to sell? Isn’t it in violation of their message through the Farms bills?

5. When the time is to boost consumption in our economy, why is the government denting the pockets of the common man through increased prices for their mandatory spend?

We demand the government immediately act on black-marketers, assess stock of essential items lying in cold storages and push sufficient stock in the markets to control the prices.