The non-veg thali costs have also increased by 5 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis
As the prices of vegetables reported an increase, the home-cooked veg thali saw its cost go up by 20 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in October. The Crisil market intelligence and analytics (MI&A) research estimates show that non-veg thali costs have also increased by 5 per cent YoY. The cost of a home-cooked veg thali stood at Rs 33.3, while the cost of non-veg thali rose to Rs 61.6 in October
On account of lower arrivals due to incessant rainfall in September, prices of onion and potato rose 46 per cent and 51 per cent on-year, respectively, in October. Further, rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka has delayed onion harvests and cold storage stocks of rabi potato (which accounts for around 95 per cent of annual potato production) are declining due to the season end.
Prices of tomatoes more than doubled from Rs 29 per kilogram (kg) in October 2023 to Rs 64 per kg in October 2024 due to September rains that impacted arrivals from states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh due to crop damage and festive demand. The price of pulses, which account for 9 per cent of the veg thali cost, rose 11 per cent due to an 11 per cent lower opening stock, a lower stock pipeline and festive demand.
According to Crisil’s report, for the non-veg thali, an estimated decline of 9 per cent on-year in broiler prices that account for 50 per cent of the cost led to a relatively slower uptick, while the prices of vegetables, which account for almost 22 per cent of the cost, witnessed an increase.
An 11 per cent drop in fuel cost, from Rs 903 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in September last year to Rs 803 in March this year – prevented further increase in the thali cost.
