Veg thali prices rise by 7 pc, non-veg down by 7 pc: Report

Amid lower arrivals, prices of rice (accounting for 13 per cent of the veg thali cost) and pulses (9 per cent) increased 14 per cent and 22 per cent on-year, respectively, it said. The decrease in the cost of the non-veg thali was due to 16 per cent on-year fall in broiler prices on a high base of last fiscal, Crisil said.

On-month, however, the cost of the veg thali declined 1 per cent and non-veg thali rose 2 per cent.  The cost of the veg thali eased due to a decline of 2 per cent on-month in prices of tomato (accounting for 9 per cent of the veg thali cost), while prices of onion and rice remained flat, Crisil said.

In contrast, potato prices rose 6 per cent on-month due to crop damage, preventing further decline in thali cost. The cost of the non-veg thali rose due to an estimated 5 per cent increase in broiler prices (accounting for 50 per cent of the cost) due to higher demand amid Ramadan coupled with rising feed cost, according to Crisil.

Pushan Sharma, Director- Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said, “For the past five months, there has been a divergence in the cost of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food plates. While veg plate has become expensive on-year, non-veg is cheaper.”

“The divergence is because broiler chicken prices have fallen owing to excess supply. Going forward, we expect wheat prices to decline with fresh harvest arriving in the market and tomato prices to stay benign, but onion prices could see some near-term firming up because rabi harvest is seen 20 per cent lower,” he said.

The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. Monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data also reveals the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil, cooking gas) driving changes in the cost of a thali, according to the rating agency.

A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. For non-veg thali, the constituents remain the same but for dal, which is replaced by chicken.

Headline inflation has eased significantly from 5.7 per cent in December to 5.1 per cent in January and February. The RBI’s monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce the new monetary policy on Friday.

Male agricultural workers in rural areas got an average daily wage of Rs 323.2 in India in 2022, according to RBI data. If they work for 20 days in a month, their monthly income will be around Rs 13,000 for two persons. If there’re two earning members in a household, 70 per cent of the wages will go towards preparing the vegetarian thali (both lunch and dinner) for the month. Expenses towards education, health, clothes, travel and energy will have to come from the balance 30 per cent. Households will have to compromise on the quality and richness of the daily meal and cut down food expenses to keep the family budget under control.