Food prices take a central stage in our daily life while considering finances and our essential survival needs. Thus, it is important to look at food price trends witnessed in September 2024. As per the monthly report released by Crisil on Friday, the high vegetable prices pushed vegetarian thali costs up by around 11 percent year-on-year last month.
A plunge in chicken rates lowered non-vegetarian food plate rate by around 2 percent. Thus, estimated cost of a non-veg thali was reported to be around ₹59.3 while that of the veg variant was reported to be ₹31.3 in September, 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,” latest Crisil report said.
How is the price of thali calculated?
Taking into account input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India, the average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated. The monthly Crisil reports reflects the changes and impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data considers prevailing prices of several essential ingredients, including cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas – all of which drive the change in the cost of the thali.
The rise in veg thali rates in September attributes to a surge in onion, potato and tomato prices that rose by 53%, 50% and 18% year-on-year, respectively. The market analytics firm pointed out to the supply chain shortage issue that led to a rise in onion and potato prices in the backdrop of heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and hence lower output.
It is important to note that price of pulses account for 9% of the veg thali cost. Hence, a 14% uptick in their prices amid drop in production last year, led to lower opening stock this year. This compounded the veg thali price rise.
Notably, the non-veg thali costs twice as much as the veg variant but impressively it turned cheaper due to fall in broiler chicken prices by “13% on-year.” Over impact of fuel prices on thali, the Crisil report said, “An 11% drop in fuel cost – from ₹903 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in September last year to ₹803 in March this year prevented further increase in the thali cost.”
Perhaps, the veg and non-veg thali rates are the same as compared to the preceding month of August despite the variation in rates on year-on-year basis.
