Fall in prices of onion, tomato pushed cost of veg thali down 3% in Dec

On a year-on-year basis, however, the cost of veg thali continues to be higher than in December 2022

Owing to the cooling of prices of onions and tomato, the cost of a vegetarian thali fell 3 per cent in December to Rs 29.7, as compared to Rs 30.5 in November, according to the Roti Rice Rate index released by rating agency CRISIL on Monday. The prices of a non-vegetarian thali fell 5 per cent month-on-month (MoM) owing to a cool down in the prices of broilers.

For veg thali, CRISIL said that the easing was due to a 14 per cent and 3 per cent M-o-M decrease in prices of onion and tomato, respectively, with the festive season coming to an end.

"The cost of the non-veg thali declined faster due to a 5-7 per cent M-o-M decline in the price of broilers, which account for around 50 per cent of the cost," it said. The price of a non-veg thali was Rs 57.6 in December, lower than Rs 60.4 in November.

A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. A non-veg thali has the same elements as the veg thali, except for dal, which is replaced by chicken or broiler.

The data also reveals the ingredients, cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas, driving the change in the cost of the thali.

On a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, however, the cost of veg thali continues to be higher than in December 2022. According to the index, the price of veg thali rose 12 per cent in December 2023 from Rs 26.6 in the same month in 2022.

This was mainly due to the prices of onion and tomato, which rose 82 per cent and 42 per cent YoY in December. "Prices of pulses, which account for 9 per cent of the veg thali cost, also increased 24 per cent YoY," it said.

For non-vegetarian thali, the cost has fallen 4 per cent Y-o-Y from Rs 60.1 in December 2022.

"The decline in the cost of the non-veg thali was due to a 15 per cent decline in broiler prices YoY amid higher production," CRISIL added.