Veg thali cost up in May as vegetable prices soar: Crisil

New Delhi: The cost of home-cooked vegetarian meals rose in May, while that of non-vegetarian meals fell.

The cost of a vegetarian plate, or thali, went up to ₹27.8, an increase of 1% on-month and 9% on- year. By contrast, the cost of a non-vegetarian thali shrank by 1% month-on-month and 7% year-on-year to ₹55.9 a plate, rating agency Crisil said in its latest monthly report on Thursday.

A typical vegetarian meal—as per Crisil—includes roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. The non-vegetarian version replaces the dal with broiler chicken.

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Despite fluctuating commodity prices, the share of ingredients used for arriving at the prices remains constant.

The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. 

The monthly change is a measure of the impact of food inflation on the common man’s expenditure.

Cost factor

Crisil said the increase in vegetarian thali cost on-month is due to a 9% rise in potato prices, it -was also up on-year because of a surge of 39%, 41% and 43% on-year in the prices of tomato, potato and onion on a low base.

Onion and potato arrivals in the market declined–the former on account of a significant drop in rabi acreage and the latter because of a late blight and crop damage in West Bengal. These also took up prices of the two kitchen staples.

Production drop

The agriculture ministry on Tuesday released second estimates of horticulture crop output for 2023-24 and pegged the production at 35.2 million tonnes (mt), a fall from 2022-23's 35.5 mt due to a drop in production, especially potatoes and onions. 

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Onion production is expected to be 24.2 mt compared with 30.2 mt last year and potato output is seen at 56.7 mt, a decrease of about 3.4 mt from last year.

A dip in acreage, resulting in subdued arrivals, led to a 13% on-year increase in the price of rice, which accounts for 13% of the veg thali cost. Lower reservoir levels impacted the production of pulses, which contribute 9% to the veg thali cost, leading to a 21% increase in prices on-year.

However, the price of cumin, chilli and vegetable oil fell 37%, 25% and 8%, respectively, preventing a further increase in the cost of the veg thali.

In the case of a non-vegetarian thali, the decline in cost is due to a 16% drop on-year and a 2% drop on-month in broiler prices on a high base of last fiscal, Crisil said.

“Since November 2023, the prices of vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis have been diverging. The vegetarian thali has become costlier on-year, while the non-vegetarian thali is cheaper,” Pushan Sharma, director- research, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics said earlier.

“Going ahead, we expect vegetables prices to remain firm, though an anticipated decline in the prices of wheat and pulses will provide some respite,” Sharma added.

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India's retail food inflation rose to 8.6% in April from 8.4% in March but eased from 13.7% a year ago.