Private retail chains like D-Mart, Reliance Retail, BigBasket, Amazon and Flipkart and online chains will now have to declare the quantity of pulses in their stocks twice a week. The government has issued this new directive in an effort to curb the sharp rise in pulses prices.
The central government has recently directed millers, retailers, wholesalers, large retail chains, importers, processors and stockists across the country to declare stocks every week. However, the norm of opening stores twice a week has been changed for large private retail chains. Its officials are checking stocks at ports and pulses processing centres.
Despite the order, major retail chains are not announcing their stocks, an official said on condition of anonymity. The Department of Consumer Affairs has revamped the stock disclosure portal to include large chain retailers as a single entity, effective April 15. These chains have some stock of beans that they need to do any advertising.
In the first week of June, government officials inspected stocks of pulses with major retail chains to see if they were compliant, the official said. All these institutions are very important. We are trying to tie up with state governments and all organizations like millers, importers, big retail chains, wholesalers and dealers. The official said he was told to act responsibly. This is not a good time for them to make profit.
Concern over food inflation continues
While headline inflation eased to 4.75% in May from 4.83% in April, the lowest in a year, food inflation, which accounts for about 40% of the total consumer price group, remained unchanged. It was 8.69% in May and 8.70% in April. In comparison, it was 3% a year ago. Inflation of pulses especially rose to 17.1% in May from 16.8% a month ago and 6.6% a year ago.
Differences in retailers
During a query sent to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs by spokespersons of Reliance Retail, D-Mart, BigBasket, ITC Foods and Amazon, a Flipkart spokesperson said, “Being a marketplace, we have mandated our sellers to proactively follow government guidelines and regulations to create awareness.”
Online retailers Flipkart and Amazon operate under the marketplace model. They provide a platform where various sellers can sell their goods. Others like BigBasket and ITC Foods operate under the inventory model and sell their goods on the portal.