High Vegetable Prices Push Veg Thali Cost In September, Non-Veg Down On Cheaper Chicken

Higher vegetable prices pushed vegetarian thali cost up by around 11% year-on-year in September, whereas a dip in chicken rates lowered non-vegetarian food plate rate by around 2%, as per the monthly report released by Crisil on Friday.

This took the estimated cost of a veg thali to Rs 31.3 in September, and the cost of the non-veg variant to Rs 59.3, as per the report.

"The veg thali cost rose due to increase in the prices of vegetables, which collectively account for 37% of the thali cost," Crisil said.

Prices of onion, potato and tomato rose 53%, 50% and 18% year-on-year, respectively, in September. This was because of lower onion and potato arrivals, while heavy rainfall impacted tomato output in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the market analytics firm pointed out.

Price of pulses, which account for 9% of the veg thali cost, rose 14% amid drop in production last year, leading to lower opening stock this year. This led to a further uptick in the veg thali rate, it added.

The non-veg thali, which costs twice as much as the veg variant, turned cheaper due to an estimated decline of "13% on-year" in broiler chicken prices, according to the report. Broiler chicken accounts for 50% of the thali cost, it said.

Despite the variation in rates on year-on-year basis, the veg and non-veg thali rates are the same as compared to the preceding month of August, Crisil said.

The stability in rate comes despite onion prices rising 14% month-on-month. "However, a 2% decline in potato prices due to stocks released from the cold storage and 9% fall in tomato prices due to higher arrivals from the southern and western markets prevented further increase in the thali cost," the report said.

For the non-veg thali, stable broiler prices on-month amid steady demand helped maintain the cost, it added.