A day after the government released data underlining that the Wholesale Price Index-based inflate rate fell to a seven-and-a-half-year low in May, the Congress said the data was misleading and claimed that only wholesalers and the government were benefiting from the falling prices and the benefit was not being passed on to the end consumer.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here today, Congress spokesperson Prof. Gourav Vallabh asked, “When the prices of most essential commodities are falling in the wholesale market, why are the benefits of falling prices not being passed on to the final consumers? Who is pocketing the profits?”
The producer of these goods and the farmers both continue to get lower prices while retailers are selling them at higher rates, he added.
“WPI numbers for May 2023 for vegetables, potato, and oil seeds are at -20.12%, -18.71%, and -15.65%, respectively, and when the same product was purchased by farmers for self-consumption, CPI on food and beverages is +3.29%,” he said.
Mr. Vallabh further demanded to know that when prices of crude oil had come down in the international market, why was the benefit not passed on to the consumers.
“When on May 23, WPI numbers for crude petroleum and LPG had a contraction of -27.01% and -24.35% respectively, why in retail market prices of LPG, petrol, and diesel not reduced,” he asked, while remarking that it was the government that enjoyed the entire benefit of this contraction in crude prices.
