New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- Ginger, garlic, onions and sugar had far higher prices in August than in the same month last year, going by inflation data released by India's statistics ministry, while the usual suspects among kitchen staples like potatoes and tomatoes were cheaper. Given their varying crop cycles and rain-catchment zones, scarcities caused by patchy rainfall have played varied roles in these outcomes.

Broadly, however, food has gotten dearer, even as monsoon rains begin to peter out with the country staring at a rain deficit of about 15%. Oilseeds and edible oils have seen price uptrends, pulses look set for the same and rice may need buffer-stock releases to keep the market well supplied.

That a drier rainy season than usual w...