Cost of a home-cooked veg thali declines 3% year-on-year, non-veg thali remains flat in March

In some relief for the common man, the cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali declined 3% year-on-year (y-o-y), while that of non-vegetarian thali remained flat on year in March, according to the Crisil Roti Rice Rate (RRR) report. The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India.

The year-on-year decline in the cost of vegetarian thali was due to a sharp dip in tomato prices. Tomato prices declined 34% on year to ₹21 per kg in March 2025 from ₹32 per kg in March 2024. The arrival of the tomato crop across the country rose 29%. The increase was mainly in the southern states, which had robust rabi crops due to increased acreage and better yield on year amid healthy reservoir levels.

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However, a 2%, 6% and 19% on-year jump in the prices of potato, onion and vegetable oil prevented a further decline in the cost of a vegetarian thali.

Further, the sharp drop in tomato prices helped keep the cost of the non-vegetarian thali from increasing. However, the overall decline was offset by rising prices of other commodities. For example, a 2% on-year increase in broiler prices, which makes up about 50% of a nonvegetarian thali’s cost—prevented any reduction. Broiler prices rose due to a low base from the previous year, when oversupply had caused prices to dip.

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Also, month-on-month, the cost of vegetarian and non-vegetarian thali declined 2% and ~5% in March 2025. Further, vegetables such as onions, potatoes and tomato prices declined 5%, 7% and 8% on-month, respectively, amid fresh arrivals. "Vegetable prices remained subdued in March, with those of onion, potato and tomato declining on-month due to fresh arrivals," said Pushan Sharma, director- Research, Crisil Intelligence. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man's expenditure.

According to a Crisil Intelligence report, the cost of a non-vegetarian thali declined owing to an estimated 7% on-month drop in broiler prices. According to the report, elevated supply in the north and slower demand amid a bird flu scare in the south led to the dip.

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"However, we expect prices to bottom out and start picking up in April, as witnessed last year in the case of potato and tomato. Onion prices are likely supported by strong export momentum, while potato prices are expected to trend upward as cold storage stocks enter the market. Tomato prices, too, are expected to see a moderate increase due to lower rabi arrivals," Sharma added.