Prelims 2011 · archive
EasyIndia has experienced persistent and high food inflation in the recent past. What could be the reasons?
- 1.Due to a gradual switchover to the cultivation of commercial crops, the area under cultivation of food grains has steadily decreased in the last five years by about 30%.
- 2.As a consequence of increasing incomes, the consumption patterns of the people have undergone a significant change.
- 3.The food supply chain has structural constraints.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Food inflation came from demand rising faster than supply. As incomes rose, spending shifted towards milk, eggs, meat, fish and vegetables, while food supply chains were inefficient and slow to respond. There was no 30% fall in foodgrain area in five years.
- ✗ 1. Total foodgrain area stayed broadly stable, at over 120 million hectares, through the late 2000s. A 30% fall in five years would have meant losing roughly 35 million hectares of foodgrain land, and that never happened. Supply was weak, but not because foodgrain area collapsed.
- ✓ 2. Household spending shifted towards milk and milk products, eggs, fish, meat and vegetables in both rural and urban areas, while the share of cereals in the food basket fell. This diversification raised demand for exactly the items whose prices rose fastest.
- ✓ 3. The Economic Survey 2010-11 notes that supply responded weakly to price rises in food articles. It says this brings back into focus the central question of efficient supply chain management, which points to structural constraints in the food supply chain.
Remember · Food inflation in 2009-11 was a demand-supply mismatch. Demand shifted to protein-rich foods and vegetables, while supply chains and supply response stayed weak. Foodgrain area did not fall sharply.
Sources
- Economic Survey 2010-11, Ch 1: State of the Economy and Prospects ↗ “the agriculture sector in India is at a crossroads with rising demand for food items and relatively slower supply response in many commodities resulting in frequent spikes in food inflation.”
- Economic Survey 2010-11, Ch 8: Agriculture and Food Management ↗ “The relatively weak supply responses to price hikes in agricultural commodities, especially food articles, in the recent past brings back into focus the central question of efficient supply chain management”
- Economic Survey 2011-12, Ch 8: Agriculture and Food ↗ “there has been a shift in expenditure towards milk and milk products, egg, fish, meat, and vegetables both in rural and urban areas, whereas the share of consumption of cereals in the total food basket has gone down … During 2000-01 to 2011-12 the situation changed, whereas growth in area is 0.04 per cent, the growth in production and yield at 1.72 per cent”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·