As food inflation rises again and the prices of daily consumption vegetables and fruits remain high, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has convened a high-level meeting here on Monday to review the situation. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will chair the meeting, which is expected to be attended, among others, by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit. The latter has been invited to work out the possibility of opening more outlets for sale...

The heat generated by the high food inflation may force the government to go slow, or even drop, some of its key proposals to open up the country's food and fertiliser sectors, experts say. Decontrolling sugar and urea and freeing up some farm exports are some of the proposals the government may not touch in the coming days, they say. The proposal on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail may also...

Export curbs during 2008 crisis ‘exacerbated' situation. The Food and Agriculture Organisation on Wednesday said short-term policy actions, especially curbs on exports, could have harmful effects in the longer term and even aggravate the situation. In statement put on its website, the organisation, a body of the United Nations, pointed out at the 2007-08 crisis in the global food market as an example of how such decision can exacerbate the situation...

Everyone agrees that there is a food crisis. As ordinary members of the public we know there’s one every time we go out shopping for vegetables. My mother knows there’s a crisis because, after recently sacking her cook, she discovered the lady had left with all the onions in the house. The media agrees there’s one, and sends more TV crews to talk to onion farmers, even though the TV reporters...

“Government callous to plight of people groaning under spiralling prices of food items” Nine political parties, including four Left parties, on Thursday announced a week-long nationwide agitation against price rise. The United Progressive Alliance government was callous to the plight of people groaning under spiralling prices of food items, they alleged. “We have decided to jointly conduct a week-long agitation against the price rise from February 3 to 9. During the...