India, in Infographics: Prices
Food Inflation Is 8.94%, And This Time It Is Not Just Vegetables: Without Them It Is 8.45%, The Highest Since February 2023
Food Inflation Every Month Since January 2014, With And Without Vegetables. Switch Between The Two, And Hover Or Tap A Month.
Each Cell Is One Month’s Food Inflation, Change On A Year Ago. Switch To See The Same Basket Without Vegetables: Most Of The Deep Cells Fade, Except In 2020, Early 2023 And October 2026. Hover Or Tap A Cell For Both Rates And How Many Points Vegetables Added. 2026 Is MoSPI’s New Series.
Food Inflation
8.94%
October 2026, Provisional
Without Vegetables
8.45%
Highest Since February 2023
Vegetables’ Share
19%
65% In October 2024
Sugar
25.4%
Up On A Year Ago
The Bottom Line
Past Food Inflation Spikes Were Mostly Vegetables And Faded Within Months. In October 2026 Vegetables Supplied Only 19% Of The 8.94%; Without Them Food Inflation Was 8.45%, The Highest Since February 2023, With Sugar, Spices, Edible Oils, Meat And Cereals All Rising.
Why This Time Is Different
Past Spikes Were Vegetables
Vegetables Supplied 66% Of Food Inflation In December 2019, 53% In July 2023 And 65% In October 2024. Each Time, Food Inflation Without Vegetables Stayed Between 4.5% And 6.5%, And The Spike Faded Once The Crop Came In.
This One Is Broad
In October 2026 Vegetables Supplied 19%. Without Them, Food Inflation Was 8.45%, Against A 2014 To 2025 Average Of 5.0%. Sugar Rose 25.4%, Spices 13.9%, Edible Oils 11.2%, Meat 10.6%, Cereals 9.8% And Pulses 8.7%.
Why It Matters
Vegetable Prices Swing With The Weather And Usually Reverse Within Months. Cereals, Oils, Sugar And Pulses Move More Slowly, So When They Rise Together, Food Inflation Tends To Stay High For Longer.
Read With Care
Our Calculation
MoSPI Does Not Publish Food Inflation Without Vegetables. We Rebuilt It From MoSPI’s Own Food Indices And Weights; The Same Weights Rebuild MoSPI’s Published Food Index To Within 0.1 Point.
Two Series
2014 To 2025 Use The Base 2012 Basket; 2026 Uses The New Base 2024 Basket, Where Vegetables Means Fresh Vegetables And Potatoes. The Two Are Close But Not Identical.
Gaps And Revisions
April And May 2020 Are Blank Because MoSPI Did Not Compile The Headline Index. October 2026 Is Provisional.
Sources & Method
Data
MoSPI eSankhyiki CPI API: Base 2012 Food Subgroups (All India, Combined, 2013 To 2025) And Base 2024 Food Subclasses (2025 To October 2026); MoSPI CPI Weights; Consumer Food Price Index From MoSPI’s Releases. Points: Weight Times The Change In Index Over A Year, Divided By The Food Index A Year Earlier.
Data: MoSPI eSankhyiki · MoSPI Releases.
