Fresh Steps to Stabilise Essentials' Prices in AP
The ministers said field-level officials had been instructed to create awareness among farmers on the issue
VIJAYAWADA: The state government has initiated more steps to check price rise and ensure essential commodities remain available to people at affordable prices.
Civil supplies minister Nadendla Manohar said on Friday that he directed officials to continuously monitor fluctuations in prices and take corrective steps to prevent undue burden on consumers. There have been frequent hikes in prices across the board as traders took advantage of the shipping disruptions and fuel price hikes.
The minister was speaking after the eighth meeting of the ministerial committee on price stabilisation held at the secretariat. Finance minister Payyavula Keshav and agriculture minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu also attended the meeting.
Officials reviewed the demand and the prevailing wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities, including pulses, rice, edible oils, tomatoes and onions.
Manohar said the state government was fully prepared to contain the Iran war’s impact and would protect consumers.
He noted that edible oil prices had increased across the country and assured that the government would take all necessary measures to ensure availability of cooking oils at reasonable prices in AP.
The ministers said the agriculture and civil supplies departments were jointly preparing advance plans for the forthcoming Kharif-2026 season. Special awareness programmes would be conducted to encourage farmers to cultivate priority paddy varieties with better market demand.
They pointed out that farmers were facing difficulties during procurement due to cultivation of low-demand paddy varieties. In particular, varieties such as 1010 and PR-126 were yielding a high percentage of broken rice, making them less suitable for consumption and resulting in losses to farmers.
The ministers said field-level officials had been instructed to create awareness among farmers on the issue. Clear guidelines had also been issued to departments for preventive measures over the next three months to keep prices under control.
Ex-officio special chief secretary Budithi Rajasekhar, civil supplies commissioner K. Kannababu, civil supplies corporation managing director Dilli Rao, oil fed MD Balaji Naik and others were present.
