Home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis saw monthly price increases of 10% and 5%, respectively, in November, according to a recent analysis by CRISIL MI&A Research. The spike is ascribed to a notable 58% and 35% monthly increase in onion and tomato prices, respectively, which are driven by holiday demand and lower kharif season supply as a result of erratic weather.
On a monthly basis, the price of non-vegetarian thalis climbed more slowly than that of vegetarian thalis. This is explained by a modest 1-3% drop in broiler costs, which make up around half of the price of a non-vegetarian thali.
The cost of vegetarian thalis increased by 9% year over year, primarily due to a significant 15% and 93% increase in onion and tomato prices, respectively. The price of pulses, which made up roughly 9% of the vegetarian thali, increased by 21% as well.
Typically, a vegetarian thali consists of rice, dal, curd, salad, and veggies (onion, tomato, and potato). The non-vegetarian thali has comparable ingredients, except broiler chicken is used in place of dal. Based on input prices from different parts of India, CRISIL’s cost estimates offer insights into the main elements that affect thali prices: cereals, pulses, vegetables, spices, broilers, edible oil, and cooking gas.
Retail inflation peaked in July at 7.44%, a 15-month high, mostly due to food price inflation, which hit 11.5% in July—the highest level in more than three and a half years. The government tried to reduce food inflation in October by imposing export limits and importing pulses, but the percentage stayed high at 6.61%.
