The cost of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis, or meals, fell year-on-year in October, offering a respite to households.
According to Crisil Roti Rice Rate (RRR), the average cost of home-cooked vegetarian food fell by 17%, while the cost of non-vegetarian food fell by 12%, driven by lower prices of vegetables and pulses.
The RRR calculates the average cost of preparing a typical home-cooked meal based on prevailing input prices in North, South, East and West India. The monthly price movement reflects its impact on household spending. The monitored ingredients include cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas.
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“In October, the price of vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis fell by 17% and 12% year-on-year respectively as vegetables and pulses became cheaper,” said Pushan Sharma, Director, Crisil Intelligence.
According to the report, the fall in the cost of vegetarian thali was led by a sharp fall in the prices of vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, onions and pulses. Potato prices fell by 31% on a high basis as output in the 2024-25 rabi season rose by 3-4%, while tomato prices fell by 40% year-on-year due to higher supplies from western and southern markets. Onions also fell by 51% due to higher availability of stocks from the previous rabi season and subdued exports. Traders are offloading stocks for the rabi season in anticipation of new kharif arrivals in November.
Further, prices of pulses fell by 17% as imports of Bengal gram, yellow pea and black gram surged.
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Compared to the vegetarian thali, the cost of the non-vegetarian thali has declined relatively modestly as broiler chicken prices have declined by only 6%. Broilers account for about half the cost of a thali. However, lower prices of vegetables and pulses helped reduce overall costs.
On the other hand, vegetable oil prices jumped 11% year-on-year due to higher demand during the festival season. Also, the 6% increase in the price of an LPG cylinder limited further decline in the overall cost of thalis.
Month-on-month, vegetarian thali costs fell by just 1% in October, while non-vegetarian thali costs fell by 3%. Onion and tomato prices fell by 3% and 8% month-on-month, respectively, helping reduce the overall cost of thalis, while prices of other inputs remained largely stable.
The decline in the price of non-vegetarian thali was due to an estimated 4% month-on-month decline in broiler chicken prices due to oversupply.
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Sharma said potato prices will remain firm in November due to low stocks of the early rabi crop, but may moderate after cold stores release their stocks by mid-December. Tomato prices are also likely to remain moderate even with the continued arrival of kharifs. Pulses prices may increase in the near future due to the impact of excess rainfall on kharif yields and the recent imposition of 30% import duty on yellow peas. “If the government were to extend import duties to other pulses, prices could witness a steeper rise,” Sharma added.
He also said that in the medium term, onion prices could see a modest rise as excessive rainfall in August and September in key producing states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra delayed kharif transplants and raised yield concerns.
