Free tool
Is that price increase actually justified?
Every supplier blames raw material costs. The government publishes what those costs actually did — monthly, for 957 commodities. Put the two side by side and see how much of the increase the index really explains.
957 commodities from the official index, plus the group averages above them. Pick the closest match to your input material.
Your prices stay in your browser — we only look up the published index for the commodity you picked. Index data runs to August 2026, the latest month published.
Search for what you buy, then enter the old and new price.
Why buyers lose this argument
A price increase letter arrives citing “unprecedented input cost pressure”. The buyer has no independent figure to test it against, so the conversation becomes a negotiation about who is more stubborn — and the supplier, who knows their own costs, starts with better information than the buyer does. Most MSME buyers either accept the increase or push back on instinct and settle somewhere in the middle.
The asymmetry is the problem, and it is fixable, because India publishes the answer. The Office of the Economic Adviser compiles the Wholesale Price Index every month for individual commodities — not a single headline inflation number, but Hot Rolled Steel Coils, Cotton Yarn, Corrugated Boxes, each with its own series. Once you can say what the index for your input actually did, you are no longer arguing about feelings.
How to use the answer without starting a fight
Ask, do not accuse
An index covers a commodity basket; your supplier buys a specific grade from specific mills. A gap is a question, not proof. The useful move is to name the figure and ask which cost head accounts for the rest — material, energy, labour or freight. An honest supplier can answer that in a sentence. An opportunistic increase usually goes quiet.
Reward the supplier who held the line
When the tool shows your supplier raised less than the index, you have found something more valuable than a saving: a supplier absorbing cost on your behalf. That is the relationship to protect when you consolidate vendors, and worth saying out loud — very few buyers ever do.
Fix the terms, not just the price
If increases keep arriving unannounced, the real problem is the agreement rather than the number. Ask for a price-review clause tied to a named index with a stated review period. It cuts both ways, which is exactly why a reasonable supplier will accept it.
Common questions
How can I tell whether a supplier's price increase is justified?+
Compare the increase against the movement in the Wholesale Price Index for the same commodity over the same months. The WPI is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and published monthly for 957 individual commodities. If your supplier is asking for 14% while the published index for that input moved 0.5%, the difference is not explained by raw material costs and is a fair thing to ask about.
What is the Wholesale Price Index, and why use it rather than inflation?+
The WPI tracks prices at the wholesale or producer stage — what businesses pay each other — rather than at the retail counter, which is what the Consumer Price Index measures. For a procurement decision the WPI is the relevant series, because it follows the same transactions your supplier is making. The current series uses 2022-23 as its base year and covers 697 items across primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products.
Does a gap against the index prove I am being overcharged?+
No, and it should not be presented that way. An index tracks a basket for a whole commodity, while your supplier buys a particular grade from particular sources, and their energy, labour and freight costs move separately. A gap is a question, not a verdict. What it does is shift the conversation from haggling to specifics: it asks the supplier to name which cost head moved and by how much, which is a question an honest supplier can answer and an opportunistic increase usually cannot.
What if the index moved more than my supplier's increase?+
Then your supplier absorbed part of the rise rather than passing it on, and this tool says so. That is worth knowing — a supplier who holds prices through an input spike is carrying cost for you, and is usually the one to protect when you are consolidating your vendor list.
How current is the data?+
The WPI is published monthly, roughly two weeks after the month it covers, so the most recent month available is normally the month before last. This tool carries the published series and names the exact month range used in every result, so you can always see what period the comparison rests on.
Which commodity should I pick if my exact item is not listed?+
Choose the closest input material rather than the finished article. If you buy fabricated brackets, the meaningful index is the one for the steel they are pressed from, because that is the cost your supplier is pointing at. Picking the nearest input is also the more conservative choice, since it tests the specific claim being made rather than a broad category.
Source and limits. Index figures come from the Wholesale Price Index, base year 2022-23, published monthly by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. We carry the published series as released and name the month range in every result. An index measures a commodity basket, not one supplier's costs — treat a gap as grounds for a question, not as proof of overcharging.
Or find out what someone else would charge
An index tells you whether an increase is fair. A second quote tells you whether the price is. Post what you buy and we'll source and vet suppliers, then send you a clean comparison — we never take a cut of the price, so we have no reason to steer you. Completely free while we're getting started.
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