Govt plans price stabilisation fund

Guntur: The Prices Monitoring Committee met at the state secretariat on Monday to review the prices of rice, red gram, tomatoes, and onions.

The committee said that the establishment of special counters for the sale of rice, oil packets, onions, and tomatoes helped stabilise their prices in the open market.

Additionally, it was observed that the price of red gram had decreased in the open market. The committee attributed the increase in edible oil prices to a hike in import duty. The meeting was chaired by Dr Nadendla Manohar, the Minister for Civil Supplies, and included participation from K Atchannaidu, the Minister for Agriculture, and Payyavula Keshav, the Minister for Finance.

The TDP alliance government is committed to providing relief to the public following the rise in edible oil prices. They pointed out that palmolein oil is currently sold at Rs 110 per liter at special counters.

The government is also considering the establishment of a price stabilisation fund with an allocation of Rs 500 crore and has decided to reduce the market cess from two percent to one percent. At present, the government sells sugar at Rs 16 for half a kilogram, palmolein at Rs 110 per liter, and red gram at Rs 67 per kilogram.