Recently, the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders has had a bad impact on the budget of the common man, due to which there are many complaints regarding inflation. Meanwhile, prices of many other items have also increased in the last 15 days – increases that most of us are unaware of. Let us see what has become expensive during this period:
**Increase in prices of FMCG products**
Following a massive increase in raw material costs by 11% and packaging costs by 56%, major Indian FMCG companies like HUL, Dabur, Marico and Colgate have increased the prices of their products. Premium soap brands like Dove and Naaspati have become costlier by 4-5%, while detergent prices have increased by 5-11%. Maintaining oral hygiene has also become expensive; Companies ranging from Colgate to Dabur have increased the prices of many of their toothpaste products.
**Dairy products have become expensive**
Recently the price of 1 liter pack of Amul Gold has increased from ₹68 to ₹70. Similarly, the price of Amul Taza has increased from ₹55 to ₹57. The price of Mother Dairy’s full-cream milk (1 litre) has increased from ₹69 to ₹72. Meanwhile, the price of Mother Dairy’s buffalo milk has increased by ₹5 to ₹75 to ₹80 per litre.
**Increase in cooking costs**
Due to increase in freight rates in the wholesale market, retailers have increased the prices of rice and pulses by ₹5-7 per kg. Marico has increased the prices of its main edible oil ‘Saffola’ by 6-11%. During this period, the prices of vegetables have also increased. Tomato prices have increased from ₹30-40 per kg to ₹60-70 per kg in the last 15 days. During this period, the prices of onion, ginger, green chilli and lemon have also increased. Due to increase in transportation costs, prices of potatoes, brinjal, ladyfinger and many other vegetables have increased by ₹5-10.
**Eating out has also become expensive**
Due to rising prices of commercial LPG cylinders, restaurants and hotels have increased the prices of food items. Inflation rate in this sector has reached 5.75%. To cover costs, restaurant owners have increased menu prices by up to 1.8% last month.
