Protein inflation
Topic: Inflation and Index Numbers: CPI, WPI, IIP and the Deflator · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Protein inflation is a rise in the prices of protein-rich foods: pulses, milk, eggs, meat and fish. It happens when rising incomes make people eat more of these foods, and demand grows faster than supply. It is a structural pressure, not a one-off shock, so it can keep food inflation high for years.
Example
As Indian households grow richer, they buy more milk, eggs and pulses. Supply of these foods cannot grow as fast as demand. Their prices then rise faster than cereal prices, and this pushes up food inflation in the CPI.
Don't confuse with
- Skewflation: this is any sharp price rise confined to a narrow group of items, often short-lived. Protein inflation is one specific, demand-driven kind that tends to persist.
Related concepts
- Inflation
- Inflation rate
- Base effect
- Food inflation
- Creeping inflation
- Galloping inflation
- Hyperinflation
- Disinflation
- Deflation
- Reflation