Food prices rose faster than incomes: Report
#News Bureau October 29,2024
Do you also feel that the prices of goods have increased, but wages or salaries have not increased? Or even if salaries have increased, the prices of food items have increased tremendously in comparison?
At least this is what has come to light by comparing the prices of the last one year in a report. According to a report by The Hindu, the cost of an average healthy meal in October 2024 has increased by 52% compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, the average salary and wages have increased by 9 to 10%. Although everyone has been affected by such a situation, but this is a very scary picture for daily wage laborers and low-paid people.
Usually, daily wage and irregular workers spend most of their earnings on food and have almost no savings. But the situation has become even worse for them due to the increase in food prices in the last one year. The condition of households where women are the sole breadwinners is even worse.
The English newspaper has said that for this analysis, it has been assumed that an average Indian family will be able to meet their daily dietary needs only if they consume food equivalent to two plates per day, divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner. Non-vegetarian items were not considered due to lack of previous data. The report said that vegetable prices were taken from Mumbai and Maharashtra was chosen as an example for other items. This is because consistent data was available in the state. Wage data was also taken from the same state.
Retail prices of vegetables were ascertained from the dashboard of the National Horticulture Board. Retail prices of commodities other than vegetables were taken from the dashboard of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The increase in thali prices can be directly linked to the sharp rise in the cost of most vegetables. During this period, the retail prices of tomatoes, potatoes and garlic have increased significantly.
The Hindu reports that between October 2023 and October 2024, tomato prices rose by 247%, potato prices by 180% and garlic prices by 128%. On average, the retail price of all vegetables used in the thali collectively increased by 89%, while the price of non-vegetable items increased by only 1.5%. However, the prices of tur dal and rice fell by 2.6% and 0.7% respectively during the same period. The prices of other items such as salt, sunflower oil and wheat increased only marginally, ranging between 3% and 18%.
According to the report, the average wages earned during a calendar month in Maharashtra were considered for regular workers. For irregular labourers, the average earnings per day of those engaged in work other than public works were considered. The values were taken from the Periodic Labour Force Survey Report (October to December quarter-2023). Data for 2024 was obtained by calculating the compounded annual growth rate for the previous five October to December quarters.
The average daily wage of men in Maharashtra increased from Rs 451 per day in October-December 2023 to Rs 492 per day in October-December 2024. Similar figures for women were Rs 293 per day and Rs 324 per day.
The average monthly wage of men in Maharashtra increased from Rs 24,321 in October-December 2023 to Rs 26,509 in October-December 2024. The corresponding figures for women were Rs 18,959 and Rs 20,928.
