Retail Inflation For Farm Workers Touches 7.37%, Grows To 7.13% For Rural Labourers In November

Food inflation touched 9.38 per cent for agricultural workers and 9.14 per cent for rural workers in Nov, against the inflation numbers of 8.42 per cent and 8.18 per cent respectively, seen in Oct.

An upward trend has been observed in the index across states except West Bengal, which saw a reduction in both CPI-AL and CPI-RL, and Himachal Pradesh which logged a lower CPI-AL.

Retail inflation for farm workers reached 7.37 per cent in November, while the same for rural labourers rose to 7.13 per cent, owing to surging prices of certain food items, official data from the Labour Ministry revealed. The retail inflation in October stood at 7.08 per cent for farm workers and 6.92 per cent for rural labourers, the official statement said. 

Food inflation touched 9.38 per cent for agricultural workers and 9.14 per cent for rural workers in November, against the inflation numbers of 8.42 per cent and 8.18 per cent recorded a month earlier respectively. The data from the Labour Ministry further stated that food inflation for agricultural workers remained at 6.19 per cent and 6.05 per cent for rural workers in November 2022, reported PTI. 

The statement from the ministry noted that point-to-point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers) and CPI-RL (rural labourers) stood at 7.37 per cent and 7.13 per cent in November 2023, against 7.08 per cent and 6.92 per cent respectively in October 2023 and 6.87 per cent and 6.99 per cent respectively in November last year. 

The All-India CPI for agricultural labourers climbed 12 points to 1,253 in November 2023, while the index for rural workers increased 11 points to 1,262. Comparatively, the indices stood at 1,241 points and 1,251 points respectively, in October 2023. The growth in the general index for both group resulted from the group of food items to the extent of 10.85 and 10.50 points respectively, owing to a surge in prices of rice, wheat atta, pulses, onion, turmeric whole, garlic, mixed spices, etc. 

An upward trend has been observed in the index across states except West Bengal, which saw a reduction in both CPI-AL and CPI-RL, and Himachal Pradesh which logged a lower CPI-AL. With regards to agricultural labourers, the index gained 1 to 10 points in 11 states, 11 to 20 points in 4 states, and climbed over 20 points in 3 states. Tamil Nadu stood at the top of the index table with 1,453 points, while Himachal Pradesh stood last with 958 points. 

On the other hand, for rural labourers, the index grew 1 to 10 points in 11 states, 11 to 20 points in 5 states, and soared over 20 points in 3 states. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu both topped the list with 1,439 points each, while Himachal Pradesh secured the last position with 1,015 points. 

The maximum rise of 27 points in the CPI-AL index was observed in Maharashtra, owing to the surge in prices of jowar, rice, wheat atta, tapioca, arhar dal, onion, and sugar. For the CPI-RL index, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu recorded a gain of 24 points each, due to the rise in prices of rice, jowar, ragi, fish fresh, onion, arhar dal, vegetables, and fruits, specially brinjal, tomato, and lady finger, etc. 

West Bengal recorded the sharpest fall in both the indices, due to a decline in prices of rice, ginger, chilly green, vegetables, fruits, firewood, etc, the ministry informed.