Attention! Inflation alarm is ringing for common people. | Why did Burger King say bye bye to Tomatoes?

 

Attention! Inflation Alarm is ringing for common people:

The month of July was once again painful on the economic front. The inflation rate reached below 5% in June with great difficulty. But once again increased the difficulties of the Reserve Bank of India in July. In fact, based on data based on the Consumer Price Index, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the latest data on retail inflation.

According to which the inflation rate has gone above 7%, leaving behind the maximum RBI limit of 6%. The retail inflation rate in July stood at 7.44% on an annual basis. This is the highest level of inflation in the last 15 months. The urban inflation rate has increased to 7.20%, which was 4.96% in June. 

At the same time, the rural inflation rate has increased to 7.63%, which was 4.72% in June. In this context, it is 1.44% more than the RBI's limit of 6%. Whereas last year in July 2022 the inflation rate was 6.71%. That is, this time last year's record has also been broken. If you do not know for what reason retail inflation is affected the most, then let us understand. 

The most important role in the calculation of retail inflation is that of the Consumer Food Price Index, Which shows rising inflation in food items. According to this, the food inflation rate in July has been 11.5%. That is, food items have become more expensive by 11.51%. The July data shows that the highest inflation was seen in vegetables and spices. 

For example, vegetables have become costlier by 37.34% in July. Similarly, the inflation of spices has been up to 21.63%. Apart from this, the inflation rate of pulses and cereals has increased by 13%. On the other hand, the prices of edible oils have fallen by 16.80%. If you do not understand what is CPI i.e. Consumer Price Index.

Let us tell you, as a customer, when you buy goods from the retail market, the job of showing the change in the prices associated with it is the Consumer Price Index i.e. CPI. The Consumer Price Index measures the average price which we pay for goods and services. Inflation is directly related to our purchasing power. 

For example, if the inflation rate is 7%, then the value of your earned ₹ 100 will be only ₹ 93. That's why investing money should be done considering inflation; otherwise, the value of your money will decrease. The rise and fall of inflation depend on the demand and supply of the product. 

Always keep this in mind if people have more money they will buy more things. Buying more things will increase the demand for things and if there is no supply according to the demand, the prices of these things will increase. In this context, the market becomes vulnerable to inflation.

Simply put, an excessive flow of money in the market or a shortage of things causes inflation. On the other hand, if the demand is less and the supply is more, then the inflation will be less. To manage this, RBI reduces the flow of money i.e. liquidity in interest and then the Reserve Bank increases the repo rate, which you must have seen in the past. 

Why did Burger King say Bye Bye To Tomatoes?

If I had told you a few days ago, a burger without tomatoes, you would probably have been shocked. But now the time has come when tomatoes are disappearing from our dishes one after the other. Inflation has skyrocketed the prices of tomatoes. Due to this the taste of tasty dishes in hotels and restaurants has deteriorated. 

After McDonald's and Subway, the food chain Burger King has also decided not to use tomatoes in its products at several Indian outlets. Inflation has hit Burger King lovers, as Burger King's wraps and burgers will now be prepared without tomatoes. Burger King, which operates more than 400 restaurants in the country, has taken this decision amid rising tomato prices. 

McDonald's and Subway have already stopped using tomatoes in their burgers and sandwiches due to the high prices of tomatoes. In a message on its website, Burger King cited quality and supply issues as reasons for removing tomatoes from its menu.

The message from Burger King states that “Restaurant Brands Asia Limited has very high standards of quality as it believes in serving genuine and authentic food. Due to uncertainty regarding the quality and supply of tomato crops, he is eliminating tomatoes from the food and is unable to include them. Rest assured, we'll be back with tomatoes soon”. The company has requested the customers to keep patience in this situation.

Some Burger King India supply centers have reportedly put up funny notices, saying that even tomatoes need a holiday. We are unable to include tomatoes in our food. According to the report, due to the increasing and decreasing pattern of rain in different states in India, the crop was ruined. 

Because of this, the supply chain has also been deeply affected. This boom has subsided in many places, but the industry is still very much affected by this change. A major increase in the price of tomatoes was recorded in July. Tomatoes, which were selling at ₹33 per kg in June, went up to ₹110 per kg in July, a huge increase of 233%. 

Not only this, the price of tomato had reached ₹ 300 per kg in many areas of the country. Due to tomatoes, the cost of vegetarian plate in the country increased by 34% in July as compared to June. In August, tomatoes were seen selling between ₹170 to ₹200 per kg in the market of Delhi. Compared to January, the prices of tomatoes have increased by 700%. 

That's why the government has been forced to import tomatoes from Nepal for the first time. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament last week that India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal amid a record hike in prices in the domestic market. Let us tell you, during July, the retail inflation rate was recorded at 7.44%, which is the upper level of 15 months. 

The increase in inflation is due to vegetables. In particular, the increased prices of tomatoes have acted as a ladder to raise inflation to a 15-month high. Inflation in vegetables was recorded at 37.34% during July. In July, more inflation was seen in the villages than in the cities. Retail inflation in cities was recorded at 7.2%, while it was recorded at 7.63% in villages. 

However, to curb the rising prices of tomatoes, from July 14, 2023, at the rate of 70 to 50% in many states including Delhi-NCR through several agencies like the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India i.e. NCCF and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India i.e. NAFED will try to sell tomatoes. Now it has to be seen that in the midst of rising prices, tomatoes are missing from other dishes. Hope you have liked this information.