Veg thali prices rise by 11% in July: Crisil

Additionally, scattered rainfall in May in Karnataka escalated whitefly infestations, thereby impacting the crop output.

The price of veg thali plate rose to Rs 32.6 in July from 29.4 in June and that of non-veg thali plate to Rs 61.4 from Rs 58.
Prices of onion and potato rose 20 per cent and 16 per cent month-on-month, respectively, further contributing to the higher cost of the veg thali, Crisil said. While lower rabi production impacted onion prices, late blight infestation in Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh affected the potato output, it said.

However, the cost of the non-veg thali rose at a slower pace compared with the veg thali since the price of broiler, comprising more than 50 per cent of the total, is estimated to have remained stable.

On a year-on-year, however, the cost of a representative home-cooked veg thali declined 4 per cent in July, while that of the nonveg thali decreased 9 per cent. The cost of a veg thali declined due to a 40 per cent drop in tomato prices on the high base of the previous fiscal. Prices had touched Rs 110 per kg in July 2023, affected by flash floods that hit supply from northern states while pest infestation impacted the output from Karnataka, Crisil said.

“A 65 per cent and 55 per cent year-on-year increase in the prices of onion and potato arrested a further decline in the thali’s cost amid lower arrivals. For the non-veg thali, the cost decrease was due to an estimated 11 per cent year-on-year decline in broiler prices on the high base of fiscal 2024,” the Crisil study said.

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

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 5.08 per cent in June 2024, down from 4.75 per cent in May 2024. The RBI’s monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the Repo rate at 6.50 per cent in the June monetary policy.