IN September this year, average price rise hit a nine-month high of 5.5 per cent. More significantly, prices of food items crossed 9.2 per cent. A majority of Indians spend nearly half of their income on food. So, food inflation hurts the most. Among food items, vegetables in particular saw a staggering price rise with year-on-year price increases of 42.4 per cent for tomatoes, 66.2 per cent for onions, and 65.3 per cent for potatoes. These three are the most consumed vegetables, across the country.