As food items started to get cheaper in the month of March, the nationwide lockdown has once again lifted the prices. The prices of common food items such as rice, dal, wheat, etc have significantly risen. However, the prices of pulses and vegetable oil have increased the most. The price of Arhar dal in the national capital was Rs 93/kg before lockdown, which surged to Rs 106/kg, as on 28 April, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. Similarly, the prices of Gram dal rose from Rs 72/kg to Rs 86/kg; Masoor dal from Rs 71/kg to Rs 81/kg; Mustard oil from Rs 124/kg to Rs 132/kg; and the prices of Soya oil rose from Rs 111/kg to Rs 121/kg.
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Average price increases are nearly over 6 per cent for several pulses, over 3.5 per cent for most edible oils, 15 per cent for potato, and 28 per cent for tomato in the 28 days post- lockdown compared to prices during the month preceding the lockdown, according to IGIDR report. Smaller cities have seen a much higher increase in prices with at least a few cities seeing a rise in retail food prices by as much as 20 per cent, it added.
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The much-necessary lockdown has also left the urban food markets in disarray. However, despite guidelines that allow the movement and transactions in essential commodities, many reports show that maintaining lockdown was given more importance than maintaining food security and thus the latter has been severely compromised. Surveys during the lockdown suggested that of the 11,159 workers, an estimated 96 per cent did not get rations from the government, 72 per cent said that their rations will get over in two days and 90 per cent did not get wages, the IGIDR report pointed out.