Food inflation in India rises to 8.04%

The rate of food inflation in India increased to 8.04 per cent for the week ended July 23, from 7.33 percent during the previous week, said official figures released by the country's Commerce Ministry on Thursday. The hike in inflation rate indeed marked a resurgence of food inflation after a two-week long declining trend when the rate of price rise had fallen below the eight per cent mark. The increase in food inflation was attributed to the increase in basic food articles like fruits, milk and onions. The inflation rate during the said week was almost half of what it was in the corresponding week of last year. It was 16.27 per cent in the corresponding week of July 2010. As per the official data, onions became dearer by 26.36 per cent compared to last year and fruits were expensive by 15.97 per cent during the said week. Similarly, milk prices went up by 10.26 per cent, while vegetables were expensive by 10.20 per cent compared to last year. Besides, cereal prices were up by 5.13 per cent, potato by 7.85 per cent, and egg, meat and fish by 6.66 per cent. However, pulses became cheaper by over seven per cent compared to the previous year, said the official figures.