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Urban food markets and the lockdown in India

Author

Listed:
  • Sudha Narayanan

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

  • Shree Saha

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Abstract

On March 24, 2020, the Government of India announced a 21-day national lockdown that has since been extended to May 3, 2020. The lockdown has left urban food markets in disarray with severe supply bottlenecks and restrictions on doing business. At a time when food prices in India were declining consistently, supply disruptions consequent to the lockdown have reversed the trend. Based on an analysis of publicly available data on wholesale and retail prices for 22 commodities from 114 Centres, we find that prices have increased since the lockdown and show no signs of reverting to the pre-lockdown levels as of April 21, 2020. Average price increases are to the tune of over 6 for several pulses, over 3.5 for most edible oils, 15 for potato 28 for tomato in the 28 days post- lockdown compared to prices during the month preceding the lockdown. We also find that smaller cities have seen a much higher increase in prices with at least a few cities seeing a rise in retail food prices by as much as 20. A survey of 50 food retailers in 14 cities reveal serious operational challenges associated with sourcing supplies, transportation and police harassment. At the same time, several innovative arrangements have evolved as well. The paper reviews these briefly and outlines some policy concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Sudha Narayanan & Shree Saha, 2020. "Urban food markets and the lockdown in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2020-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2020-017
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    File URL: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2020-017.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Cariappa, AG Adeeth & Acharya, Kamlesh Kumar & Adhav, Chaitanya Ashok & Sendhil, R. & Ramasundaram, P., 2022. "COVID-19 induced lockdown effects on agricultural commodity prices and consumer behaviour in India – Implications for food loss and waste management," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    2. Bai, Yan & Alemu, Robel & Block, Steven A. & Headey, Derek & Masters, William A., 2021. "Cost and affordability of nutritious diets at retail prices: Evidence from 177 countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Kanika Mahajan & Shekhar Tomar, 2021. "COVID‐19 and Supply Chain Disruption: Evidence from Food Markets in India†," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 35-52, January.
    4. Debraj Ray & S. Subramanian, 2020. "India’s lockdown: an interim report," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 31-79, November.
    5. Ramakumar, R., 2020. "Agriculture and the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis with Special Reference to India," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 10(1), July.
    6. Kanika Mahajan & Shekhar Tomar, 2020. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: COVID-19 and Supply Chain Disruptions," Working Papers 28, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    7. Tao Lian & Shamsheer ul Haq & Pomi Shahbaz & Lei Zhao & Muhammad Nadeem & Babar Aziz, 2022. "Changing Food Patterns during the Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Household Dynamics and Income Stabilization Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    8. Sudha Narayanan & Shree Saha, 2020. "More Reform than Relief: Indian Agriculture and the Pandemic," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 105-111, October.
    9. Narayan, Sudha & Saha, Shree, 2020. "One Step Behind: The Government of India and Agricultural Policy During the Covid-19 Lockdown," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 10(1), July.
    10. Deepak Varshney & Devesh Roy & J. V. Meenakshi, 2020. "Impact of COVID-19 on agricultural markets: assessing the roles of commodity characteristics, disease caseload and market reforms," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 83-103, November.
    11. Cariappa, AG Adeeth & Acharya, Kamlesh Kumar & Adhav, Chaitanya Ashok & R, Sendhil & Ramasundaram, P. & Kumar, Anuj & Singh, Satyavir & Singh, Gyanendra Pratap, 2022. "COVID-19 induced lockdown effect on wheat supply chain and prices in India – Insights from state interventions led resilience," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Adjognon, Guigonan Serge & Bloem, Jeffrey R. & Sanoh, Aly, 2021. "The coronavirus pandemic and food security: Evidence from Mali," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Thomas, Bejoy K. & Bhar, Soumyajit & Chakravarty, Shoibal, 2021. "Imagining Sustainability Beyond COVID-19 in India," Ecology, Economy and Society - the INSEE Journal, Indian Society of Ecological Economics (INSEE), vol. 4(01), January.
    14. Adjognon,Guigonan Serge & Bloem,Jeffrey R. & Sanoh,Aly, 2020. "The Coronavirus Pandemic and Food Security : Evidence from West Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9474, The World Bank.
    15. Bloem, Jeffrey & Farris, Jarrad, 2021. "COVID-19 Working Paper: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Food Security in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Emerging Microeconomic Literature," Administrative Publications 327341, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    urban food system; retail; wholesale; prices; agrifood supply chain; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices

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