Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: Trade barriers within the country were responsible for rising food price making some commodities costlier in some states than in others.

Addressing a post-budget meeting at Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Finance Minister's Adviser Shubhashis Gangopadhyay said that price differences was a result of trade barriers prevailing in the country.

The ability to control price inflation at the point where it is occurring is a big problem because commodities don't move in some other areas, he said. He also said expenditure-driven growth is going to give rise to more inflation.

Food prices were high in the states wherever the disbursement of funds from various government programmes such as NREG was more, he noted.

Last year, agricultural labour wage rate went higher than the food price inflation, he added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government was committed to maintaining "reasonable" price stability at 4-5 per cent, but it will not be at the cost of farmers.