Tomato Prices Drive Up Vegetarian Thali Costs By 28% In July: CRISIL

For the vegetarian thali, about 22 per cent of the increase in price was contributed by tomato prices, which increased by 233 per cent from Rs 33 per kg in June to Rs 110 per kg in July.

Indian homemade thali became more expensive on account of the sky-high tomato prices in July, revealed a Crisil report on monthly indicators of food plate costs on Monday.

According to the report, the vegetarian thali became more costly by 28 per cent and the non vegetarian thali saw a price increase of 11 per cent in July, compared to the previous month. For the vegetarian thali, about 22 per cent of the increase in price was contributed by tomato prices, which increased by 233 per cent from Rs 33 per kg in June to Rs 110 per kg in July, Crisil noted. 

Onion and potato prices also increased on a monthly basis by 16 and 9 per cent respectively, further adding to the thali prices. Crisil in its report added, “Chili and cumin also became more expensive, their prices rising 69 per cent and 16 per cent on-month, respectively, in July.” But the analytics firm pointed out that the thali prices are much more impacted by the vegetable crops due to the large quantities in which they are used in the thali. 

Crisil director Pushan Sharma noted in the report, “The cost of thali rose sequentially for the third month in a row in July and also inched up on-year for the first time this fiscal, mainly due to soaring tomato prices.”

The non-vegetarian thali didn’t see huge price hikes due to decreasing price of broilers, which fell about 3-5 per cent on a monthly basis in July. Broilers contribute to about 50 per cent of the non vegetarian thali’s costs. 

The report added, “A 2% on-month decline in the price of vegetable oil provided some respite from the increase in cost of both thalis.”

Crisil stated in it’s report that the average cost of a homemade thali is calculated on the basis of existing input prices in north, south, east and west India. The data reflects the changes on a monthly basis indicating the impact on the average person’s pocket and reveals the primary ingredients responsible for contributing to the thali prices. 

A thali is a complete meal, made up of various courses, all served on the same platter together.