Veg Thali Gets Costlier In Oct, Sees 20% YoY Rise

Driven by an increase in the prices of vegetables, the cost of home-cooked veg thali rose 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in October 2024, as per the Crisil market intelligence and analytics (MI&A) research estimates. Non-veg thali cost, too, marked a 5 per cent YoY increase during the month. The cost of a home-cooked veg thali stood at Rs 33.3, while the cost of non-veg thali rose to Rs 61.6 in October.

On account of lower arrivals due to incessant rainfall in September, prices of onion and potato rose 46 per cent and 51 per cent on-year, respectively, in October. Further, rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka has delayed onion harvests and cold storage stocks of rabi potato (which accounts for around 95 per cent of annual potato production) are declining due to the season end.

Prices of tomatoes more than doubled from Rs 29 per kilogram (kg) in October 2023 to Rs 64 per kg in October 2024 due to September rains that impacted arrivals from states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh due to crop damage and festive demand. The price of pulses, which account for 9 per cent of the veg thali cost, rose 11 per cent due to an 11 per cent lower opening stock, a lower stock pipeline and festive demand.

According to Crisil’s report, for the non-veg thali, an estimated decline of 9 per cent on-year in broiler prices that account for 50 per cent of the cost led to a relatively slower uptick, while the prices of vegetables, which account for almost 22 per cent of the cost, witnessed an increase.

An 11 per cent drop in fuel cost, from Rs 903 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in September last year to Rs 803 in March this year – prevented further increase in the thali cost.