Annual food inflation rose marginally to 10.86 per cent for the week ended August 21, after the previous two-week decline, despite a fall in vegetables prices. Food inflation had softened to 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 14 against 10.35 per cent in the previous week.
On an yearly basis, potato became cheaper by over 51 per cent, while vegetables overall saw a decline of 9.90 per cent. Onion prices also fell by 8.97 per cent, official data released on Friday showed.
Cereal prices, however, rose by 6.76 per cent, driven mainly by higher prices of pulses, rice and wheat compared to the same period in 2009. While pulses became dearer by over 14 per cent, prices of rice and wheat rose by 8.05 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, during the week under review on yearly basis.
Among other food items, milk prices soared by 18.22 per cent, and fruits became dearer by 9.27 per cent during the week over the same period in 2009. Food inflation has been in double digit for most of the year, except for a brief period in July when it fell to single digit.
The overall inflation, which also factors in the rate of change in prices of manufactured goods, fell to 9.97 per cent in July after a gap of five months.