Veg thali cost rises by 7 pc in November as tomato, potato prices surge

Non-vegetarian thali cost rose to Rs 61.5 in November from Rs 60.4 a year ago.

Crisil said the price of potato increased 50 per cent on-year on a low base to Rs 37 per kg from Rs 25 per kg in November 2023 due to a 20 per cent on-year decline in arrivals amid low yield following late blight infestation in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Further, price of pulses rose 10 per cent on-year due to lower opening and pipeline stocks. Prices are expected to dip once fresh arrivals begin in December. “Adding to the cost, vegetable oil prices rose 13 per cent on-year due to import duty hike, coupled with the festive and wedding season demand,” Crisil said.

An 11 per cent drop in fuel cost – from Rs 903 last year for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi to Rs 803 currently – prevented further increase in the thali cost. For the non-veg thali, an estimated decline of 3 per cent on-year in broiler prices, which account for 50 per cent of the non-veg thali cost, arrested the cost increase, it said.

On-month, the cost of veg thali declined 2 per cent in November, while that of non-veg thali remained flat. Tomato prices declined 17 per cent on-month with fresh supplies from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat in October, but lower arrivals in November capped further decline, Crisil said.

It said rise in prices of vegetable oil, onion and potato by 4 per cent, 4 per cent and 1 per cent on-month, respectively, arrested further decline in thali cost. For the non-veg thali, an estimated 2 per cent rise in broiler prices led to stable thali cost, it said.

Meanwhile, a 10.9 per cent spike in food prices lifted India’s retail inflation to a 14-month high of 6.2 per cent in October, from 5.5 per cent in September, with prices of vegetables and edible oils rising at a sharp pace not seen in recent years.

The price rise pace in October marked a breach of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance limit for inflation, with rural India facing a sharper uptick of 6.7 per cent, while urban consumers encountered an inflation of 5.6 per cent. The RBI’s monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which retained the Repo rate at 6.50 per cent in the October monetary policy, will meet on Friday to review the policy.

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