Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 11:20am on 09 Dec 2023,Saturday Business
The Centre announced new measures on Friday to control rising food inflation, including banning onion exports till March 2024, halting sugarcane juice diversion for ethanol production due to lower output fears, and tighter controls on wheat hoarding by traders. The steps come as poor monsoons and drought in some states is expected to reduce yields of several food items. Retail inflation is also seen rebounding in November, driven by surging vegetable prices. Apart from onion export curbs, import duties on yellow peas were removed to boost supplies. The ethanol blending programme will continue using molasses and grain feedstocks despite the sugarcane juice export bar. The directives aim at thwarting overall food inflation especially in essential kitchen staples.
