The cost of a vegetarian thali in India rose way faster than that of a non-veg one in July 2023, Crisil's monthly indicator of food plate cost showed.
The cost of vegetarian thalis rose 28% during the month under consideration, and that of non-vegetarian ones by 11% month-on-month, the data revealed.
As per Crisil's reckoning, a veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. For a non-vegetarian thali, chicken replaces dal.
As per the report, "Of the 28% rise in the cost of a vegetarian thali, 22% can be attributed solely to the price of tomato."
It is worth mentioning here that July tomato prices rose an astounding 233% over June — to Rs 110/kg from Rs 33/kg.
A rise in the prices of onion and potato also added to the increasing thali costs — with onion rising 16% month-on-month and potato, 9%.
Persistently stubborn tomato prices have slowly turned into a major policy issue in India. Following several months of price pain, the government has been forced to bring a series of policy steps to check runaway prices.
And it's not just tomato, onion and potato. Food inflation, in general, has begun to cause problems for the government owing to factors such as tight supplies and weather-related issues.
The average prices for cereals (3.5%), pulses (7.7%) and vegetables (95.1%) and milk (10.4%) were higher on an annual basis while those for oils and fats (-17%) were lower, ToI's report said citing a latest analysis by financial services firm Emkay Global.
The report quoted Madhavi Arora, economist at Emkay Global, as saying: "The ongoing spike in tomato prices is not expected to moderate before the end of August at the earliest, while other vegetable prices have also risen in the last couple of weeks."
The cost of non-veg thalis rose slower in July because of the fact that the cost of broilers, which accounts for over half of a thali's price, likely fell by 3-5% during the month.
There was some amount of respite in terms of cost for both veg and non-veg thalis owing to a month-on-month decline in the prices of vegetable oil, which fell 2% in July as from June 2023 level.
It may be noted here that Crisil computes the average cost of preparing a thali at home based on input prices in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reveals how the common man's household budget is being impacted by by the inflation scenario.
The agency's data also shows which of the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil, cooking gas) caused the change in cost.
Source Name : Economic Times