Citing various short-term and long-term price intervention measures like supplying vegetables, food grains and pulses well below the open market price through cooperative outlets and Uzhavar Sandhais (Farmers’ Markets) taken by his government, Stalin said that in spite of the best efforts like monthly supply of tur dal, sugar and Palmolein at highly subsidised rate and supply of free rice and wheat beyond NFSA coverage through Universal PDS, the prices of the select essential food commodities have increased owing to the nationwide inflationary trend.

Stalin, who chaired a detailed review meeting on the issue on July 10, said the State has floated bids for procuring some of the above items from domestic or foreign producers and they are in process. “ I request you to kindly expedite the Union government’s efforts to import these products, in view of the shortage in domestic production. In the meanwhile, supply from the central stock can ease the situation. Hence, I request you to allot 10000 MT each of wheat and tur dal per month from the central stock,” he said, adding that the procured items would be sold through cooperative outlets to cool the prices.

Pointing to union statistics ministry data which put the inflation rate of cereals and pulses at 12.65% and 6.56% respectively during May, Stalin said that the spike in prices of many essential food commodities like rice, wheat, tur dal, urad dal and vegetables like tomato has burdened poor and middle-class families immensely and the recent surge is likely to substantially worsen this situation,” he added.