Thali prices decline to a three-month low in September

Thali prices declined to a three-month low in September, providing some relief to households, as the vegetable shock owing to tomato prices dissipated and the cost of fuel declined due to Rs 200 cut in the LPG cylinder price, according to Crisil's latest report.

“The major contribution was from tomato prices, which declined ~62% on-month to Rs 39/kg in September 2023 from Rs 102/kg in August,” Crisil said on Thursday.

The rating agency noted that cost of fuel, which accounts for 14% of the total cost of veg thali and 8% of non-veg thali, also led to lower thali prices.


The cost of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder fell from Rs 1,103 to Rs 903 in September.

“Prices of chillies also provided some relief by cooling off ~31% on month,” it noted.

The price of vegetarian thali declined 17.5% to Rs 27.9 in September compared with August, whereas non-veg thali was down 9% to Rs 61.4.

However, prices of thali are still higher compared to April.

“Onion prices rose ~12% on month in September and are expected to remain firm amid the expected lower output in kharif 2023,” Crisil said.

A 2-3% rise in broiler prices kept non-veg thali costs from falling as much as the veg thali. Broiler prices account for 50% of the cost of veg thali.

Crisil’s thali index indicates that inflation is expected to ease considerably in September after staying above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper target band of 6% for two consecutive months.

Inflation eased to 6.8% in August from a 15-month high of 7.4% in July.

Thali prices are unlikely to come down considerably over the year, as experts indicate more turmoil in food inflation.

The World Bank, earlier this week, raised India’s inflation forecast for FY24 by 0.7 percentage points to 5.9%. Asian Development Bank also increased its inflation forecast for FY24 to 5.5% from 5% projected earlier.