The Hindu Business Line : Consumer price index up in Kerala

Comparative figures
The index rose from 120 points in 2004 to 125 points as at the end of 2005.
The annual rate of inflation in terms of the index also moved up by 3.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

Thiruvananthapuram , May 3

The consumer price index (CPI), an indicator of inflationary trend, went up by five points in 2005 compared to the previous year.

The index rose from 120 points in 2004 to 125 points as at the end of 2005. The annual rate of inflation in terms of the index also moved up by 3.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

According to the latest Economic Review of the State Planning Board, among 17 selected centres, the indices of nine centres fell below the state average of 125 points. The highest increase was recorded in Thiruvananthapuram (132 points), followed by Kollam (130). The lowest index of 119 points was registered at four centres, namely, Punalur, Mundakkayam, Munnar and Meppady.

In the case of retail prices, nine out of 18 selected essential commodities recorded negative growth in 2005 compared to the previous year. This ranged between 0.15 per cent and 27.7 per cent.

The prices of chillies, onion (small) and coriander under spices and condiments group recorded negative growth of 6.7 per cent, 15.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, compared to the price levels in 2004.

Under fruits and vegetables group, prices of banana fell by 11.2 per cent.

All items, except groundnut oil and oilseeds group recorded fall in prices. The decline in the prices of coconut oil and coconut without husk was 10.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively.

The other items whose prices fell were rice (2.2 per cent) and dhal (4.6 per cent).

The items that witnessed rise in prices included sugar (12.3 per cent), green gram (16.8 per cent), red gram (3.3 per cent), groundnut oil (0.15 per cent) egg (8.4 per cent), milk (4.3 per cent) and potato (16.5 per cent).

The review, quoting National Sample Survey, says that in the rural sector in Kerala, about 36.3 per cent of population is having monthly per capita consumption expenditure above Rs 950, which is the highest among all the states in the country.

Next to Kerala is Punjab (31.4 per cent) and Haryana (20.3 per cent), while at the national level it is only 8.2 per cent.

In the urban sector too, the per capita consumption expenditure is the highest in Kerala with 14.4 per cent of the population accounting for above Rs 1,925, followed by Punjab (13.3 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (10.8 per cent).