The increase was due to a significant month-on-month increase in onion and tomato prices of 58% and 35%, respectively, due to festive demand and lower output during the kharif season due to poor conditions and irregular rainfall.
CRISIL MI&A Research said the cost of a typical homemade vegetarian and non-vegetarian thali in November 2023 increased by 10% and 5% respectively during the month.
The increase was due to a significant month-on-month increase in onion and tomato prices of 58% and 35%, respectively, due to festive demand and lower output during the kharif season due to poor conditions and irregular rainfall.
Compared to last month, non-vegetarian thali prices increased at a slower rate than vegetarian thali due to a slight decrease in broiler chicken prices of 1-3%, accounting for 50% of non-vegetarian thali prices,vegetarian costs, CRISIL said. The cost of a non-vegetarian thali increased to Rs 61.2 in November 2023 from Rs 58.2 in October and the cost of a vegetarian thali increased to Rs 30.3 from Rs 27.5 in October. The cost of a vegetarian thali increased by 9% year-on-year, driven by a 93% and 15% increase in onion and tomato prices, respectively. Bean prices, which account for 9% of the cost of the vegetarian thali, also increased by 21% over the same period last year.
The average cost to prepare thali at home is calculated based on the prevailing input prices in North, South, East and West India. The monthly change reflects the impact on ordinary people’s spending. According to the rating agency, the data also reveals how the ingredients (grains, pulses, broiler, vegetables, spices, cooking oil, cooking gas) determine how the price of a thali changes. The vegetarian thali includes roti, vegetables (onions, tomatoes and potatoes), rice, dal, curd and salad. For the non-vegetarian thali, the ingredients remain the same but for the dal, it is replaced with chicken.
According to data from the Ministry of Statistics, India’s retail inflation fell to 4.87% in October from 5.02% in September. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI, will meet in this week, kept the repo rate at 6.50% in its October policy meeting.
The hike in thali prices means a family of five will have to pay an additional cost of Rs 14 for preparing vegetarian thali and Rs 15 for non-vegetarian thali for lunch or dinner every day. If they prepare thali for lunch and dinner, the additional cost per month will be Rs 840 for vegetarian thali and Rs 900 for non-vegetarian thali per five-member household.
The total cost of preparing a vegetarian thali for a family of five members would be Rs 4,545 per month and for a non-vegetarian thali it would be Rs 9,180 per month for lunch or dinner.
According to RBI data, male agricultural workers in rural areas earned an average daily wage of Rs 323.20 in India in 2022. If they worked 20 days a month, the monthly income of They will be around Rs 13,000 for two people. If there are two members in a household earning an income, 70% of the salary will be used to prepare vegetarian thali (lunch and dinner) for the month. Expenses related to education, health, clothing, transportation and energy will have to be taken from the balance up to 30%.
Households will have to compromise on the quality and variety of their daily meals, while reducing food spending to maintain control of the family budget.
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