Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began consultations with the Chief Ministers on ways to contain rising prices of essential commodities here on Saturday.

The meeting, being attended by the Chief Ministers of most of the states, has been called in the backdrop of food inflation which touched a decade high of 20 per cent in December.

Prices of sugar, pulses and vegetables have skyrocketed in the past few months even as the government allowed liberal imports to tone up supplies and ban exports of several items.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, expressed concern over the soaring prices and asked the government to initiate steps to provide relief to common man on Friday.

Besides the Chief Ministers, the meeting is being attended by several union ministers, including Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.