Veg Thali Becomes Costlier By 9% in May 2024, Non-Veg Cheaper By 7%: Crisil

A vegetarian thali became costlier by 9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in May 2024 mainly on account of dearer tomato, potato and onion due to low base effect and lower crop arrivals. However, the cost of non-veg thali in May 2024 declined 7 per cent YoY due to a fall in broiler prices, according to the monthly ‘Roti Rice Rate’ report released by Crisil’s ‘Market Intelligence and Analysis’ on Wednesday.

The Cost Of A Veg Thali

The cost of a vegetable thali, which comprises roti, vegetables (onions, tomatoes and potatoes), rice, dal, curd and salad, increased to Rs 27.8 per plate in May 2024 from Rs 25.5 in May 2023, the Crisil report said.

“The cost of the veg thali increased owing to a surge of 39 per cent, 41 per cent and 43 per cent on-year in the prices of tomato, potato and onion, respectively, largely because of the low base of last fiscal,” it said.

The report said Lower onion arrivals on account of a significant drop in rabi acreage coupled with a decline in potato arrivals on account of the adverse impact of late blight and crop damage in West Bengal contributed towards the increase in prices.

Rice and pulses have also got costlier by 13 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, it added.

On a monthly basis, the cost of a veg thali increased marginally due to a

9 per cent increase in potato prices, while the cost of other major components broadly remained flat.

The Cost Of A Non-Veg Thali

In the case of non-veg thali, which comprises all the same ingredients but dal gets replaced by chicken, the price declined to Rs 55.9 in May 2024 as compared with Rs 59.9 a year ago.

The decline in non-veg thali on a yearly basis was due to a 16 per cent on-year fall in broiler prices, which has a 50 per cent weightage in the overall price.

On a monthly basis, the cost of a non-veg thali also fell due to an estimated 2 per cent decline in broiler prices amid high base effect.

The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data also reveals the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas) driving the change in the cost of the thali.

Meanwhile, according to the latest official data available, CPI inflation in April 2024 remained largely unchanged at 4.83 per cent vis-à-vis 4.85 per cent in March 2024, highlighting the resistance it faces in reaching near the RBI MPC target of 4 per cent. Sequentially, the headline inflation print rose by 0.48 per cent, largely and expectedly driven by food inflation in the summer season.