Pressure on your food bills has doubled in 2 years, Economic Survey explains why that happened

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Economic Survey 2024 which was tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday stated that food inflation based on the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) increased from 3.8 per cent in FY22 to 6.6 per cent in FY23 and further to 7.5 per cent in FY24, suggesting a 97 per cent surge in the last two years.

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The document indicated the rising vulnerability of food prices to climate change – heat waves, uneven monsoon distribution, unseasonal rainfall, hailstorms, torrential rainfall and historic dry conditions.

Why your kitchen staples have taken a hit

• The production prospects of vegetables and pulses were particularly impacted by unfavourable weather conditions, the document said.
• The increase in tomato prices in July 2023 was caused by seasonal changes in crop production, region-specific crop diseases such as white fly infestation, and the early arrival of monsoon rains in the northern part of the country, the document said.
• The spike in onion prices was due to several factors, including rainfall during the last harvesting season affecting the quality of rabi onions, delays in sowing during the kharif season, prolonged dry spells impacting kharif production, and trade-related measures taken by other countries.
• The prices of pulses, particularly of tur, increased due to low production over the past two years, caused by adverse weather conditions.
• Urad production was affected by slow sowing progress in the rabi season coupled with