New Delhi: The cost of a representative, home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis shot up by 10% and 5% respectively in the preceding month of November, Indian Express reported citing data from CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics Research.
The rise is attributed to about a 58% monthly increase in onion prices and a 35% rise in tomato prices. Festive demand and lower output in the Kharif season due to erratic rainfall also contributed to the rising prices.
What’s accounted for in the vegetarian thali is vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. On the other hand, for representational purposes, a non-vegetarian thali consists of all the above constituents, but the dal is replaced by chicken.
The differential rise in vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis is due to the marginal 1% to 3% slash in prices of broilers, which account for 50% of the non-vegetarian thali cost. While the cost of a non-vegetarian thali rose from Rs 58.2 in October to Rs 61.2 in November, the cost of preparing a vegetarian thali jumped to Rs 30.3 in November from Rs 27.5 in October.
On the other hand, the cost of vegetarian thali rose 9% over the last year, primarily due to a 93% rise in onion prices and a 15% jump in tomato prices. The prices of pulses also jumped by 21% over the last year. The analysis takes into account the input prices of ingredients in various parts of the country.
A family of five would incur an additional cost of Rs 14 for a vegetarian thali, and Rs 15 for a non-vegetarian thali. Assuming that they prepare a thali for both lunch and dinner, it could additionally cost them Rs 840 per month for a vegetarian thali, and Rs 900 per month for a non-vegetarian thali. The total cost of preparing a vegetarian thali for a five-member family would be Rs 4,545 per month and for a non-vegetarian thali Rs 9,180 for either lunch or dinner.
India’s retail inflation dropped to 4.87% in October compared to 5.02% in September, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics.
