Thali becomes cheaper in March as vegetable prices decline

The average cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali declined for the fifth straight month in March to ₹26.6, due to a decline in vegetable prices, according to a report by Crisil released on Monday.

The cost of a non-vegetarian thali dropped to ₹54.8 during the same month.

The figures are based on input prices across the north, south, east and west regions of India.


The cost of a vegetarian thali declined by 3% year-on-year, largely due to a sharp 34% drop in tomato prices to ₹21/kg in March from ₹32/kg in March 2024.

"Arrival of tomato crop across the country rose 29%-the rise was particularly in the southern states, which had a robust rabi crop due to increased acreage and better yield on-year amid healthy reservoir levels," Crisil noted.

However, further cost reduction was offset by annual increases in the prices of potatoes (2%), onions (6%) and vegetable oil (19%).

Tomato prices also contributed to the drop in non-vegetarian thali costs, but a 2% increase in broiler prices limited the overall decline.

Broiler accounts for about 50% of non-vegetarian thali's cost.

"Broiler prices rose due to a low base from the previous year when oversupply had caused prices to dip," Crisil said.

On a monthly basis, vegetarian and non-vegetarian thali costs declined by 2% and 5% in March, respectively.

Sequentially, prices of onion, potato and tomato fell by 5%, 7% and 8%, respectively, in March due to fresh crop arrivals.

The sharper drop in non-vegetarian thali costs was attributed to a 7% fall in broiler prices. "Our interactions suggest elevated supply in the north, coupled with slower demand amid a bird flu scare in the south, led to the dip," Crisil added.