Centre has asked States to ensure that all bottlenecks in the supply chain are removed to address the issue of rising prices. In a letter written to State Chief Minister, the Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has asked them to take steps in this direction at a faster pace to bring down the food prices. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has pointed out that three fourth of inflation is due to significant increase in the prices of a few items like food, vegetables, milk, meat, poultry and fish. The Finance Minister said that the prices of cereals and pulses have come down. He added there are weather induced supply constraints on some of the items adding to the inflation besides widening gap between the wholesale and retail prices. Mr. Mukherjee also said this is also due to rising income levels. The food inflation rose to 18.3 percent for the week that ended on 25th of December.