Cheaper tomatoes, broiler led to fall in thali cost: Crisil

A 27 per cent drop in fuel cost – to Rs 803 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in March 2024 from Rs 1,103 in August 2023 – contributed to the decline, it said.

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A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. For non-veg thali, the constituents remain the same but for dal, which is replaced by chicken.

The cost of representative home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis declined by 4.29 per cent and 3.42 per cent, respectively, on a month-on-month basis in August 2024, CRISIL MI&A Research said.

The decline was steeper at 8 per cent and 12 per cent for veg and non-veg thalis, respectively, when compared to the same period of last year. “Prices of tomato, which accounted for ~14 per cent of the veg thali cost in August, declined 51 per cent on-year (from Rs 102 per kg in August 2023 to Rs 50 per kg in August 2024) due to fresh arrivals from southern and western states,” Crisil said.

A 27 per cent drop in fuel cost – to Rs 803 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in March 2024 from Rs 1,103 in August 2023 – contributed to the decline, it said. Moreover, prices of vegetable oil, chilli and cumin, which together account for less than 5 per cent of the veg thali cost, eased 6 per cent, 30 per cent and 58 per cent on-year, respectively, Crisil said.

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The decline in cost was sharper for a non-veg thali due to an estimated 13 per cent on-year drop in prices of broiler, which account for 50 per cent of the cost, Crisil said. That said, an on-year uptick of Rs 15 per kg and Rs 13 per kg in onion and potato retail prices, respectively, due to lower rabi arrivals capped the decline in costs of both veg and non-veg thalis.

The decline was driven by tomato prices, which fell 23 per cent on-month from Rs 66 per kg in July 2024 to around Rs 50 per kg in August 2024. “For a non-veg thali, the cost decline was due to an estimated 1-3 per cent on-month decline in broiler prices due to the Shravan month in August, when non-veg consumption drops,” Crisil said.

However, a 2 per cent and 3 per cent on-month rise in the prices of potato and onion, respectively, prevented further decline in the thali cost, it said.

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.

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A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. For non-veg thali, the constituents remain the same but for dal, which is replaced by chicken.

India’s retail inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 3.54 per cent in July 2024, down from 5.08 per cent in June 2024. The RBI’s monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the Repo rate at 6.50 per cent in the August monetary policy.