Veg and Non Veg Thali August Price: While the average cost of home-cooked veg thali as well as non-veg thali declined in the month of August, you continued to pay more for your vegetarian thali in comparison to the chicken thali. During the month of August, prices for both chicken and daal eased on-year as well as on-month, due to decline in prices of tomato and broiler, said Crisil’s monthly indicator of food plate cost – The Roti Rice Rate.
The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. 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.
A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. A non-veg thali has the same elements, except for dal, which is replaced by chicken (broiler).
According to the CRISIL MI&A Research estimates, the cost of home-cooked non-veg thali decreased by 12 per cent, while that of veg thali dropped by 8 per cent on-year during the same month. The decline in the cost of non-veg thali was sharper due to an estimated 13 per cent YoY drop in price of broiler. Broiler poultry accounts for 50 per cent of the non-vegetarian thali cost.
Meanwhile, the veg-thali prices dropped by 8 per cent due to a decline of 51 per cent in the prices of tomato. Tomato prices went from Rs 102 per kg in August 2023 to Rs 50 per kg in August 2024, due to fresh arrivals from southern and western states. Tomatoes account for approximately 14 per cent of the veg thali cost. Further, the decline in the veg thali price was also contributed by a 27 per cent drop in fuel cost during the month, to Rs 803 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in March 2024 from Rs 1,103 in August 2023. Moreover, the report stated, the prices of vegetable oil, chilli and cumin, which together account for less than 5 per cent of the veg thali cost, eased 6 per cent, 30 per cent and 58 per cent on-year, respectively
However, an on-year uptick of Rs 15 per kg and Rs 13 per kg in prices of onion and potato retail prices, respectively capped the decline in costs of both veg thali and non-veg thali. This was due to lower rabi arrivals, the report said.
Now, on a month-on-month basis, the cost of both veg thali and non-veg thali declined by 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, majorly driven by tomato prices, which fell 23 per cent on-month from Rs 66 per kg in July 2024 to around Rs 50 per kg in August 2024. Meanwhile, the drop in cost of non-veg thali was due to an estimated 1-3 per cent on-month decline in broiler prices. This, Crisil added, was due to the Shravan month in August, when non-veg consumption drops. However, potato and onion continued to play spoilsport and prevented further decline in the thali cost with a month-on-month rise of 2 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
During the previous month, that is July, the cost of non-veg thali had declined by 9 per cent, while that of veg thali had dropped by 4 per cent on-year.