With Tomato Price Decline, Home-Cooked Veg Thali Gets Cheaper In November

The cost of veg thali cooked at home declined 2 per cent in November (on-month), while that of non-veg thali remained flat, as tomato prices declined 17 per cent on-month, according to a report on Thursday.

Tomato prices declined with fresh supplies from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat in October, but lower arrivals in November capped further decline, according to the monthly report by CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics.

The rise in prices of vegetable oil, onion and potato by 4 per cent, 4 per cent, and 1 per cent on-month, respectively, arrested further decline in thali cost.

"Meanwhile, potato and onion prices rose due to reduced supplies, with potato arrivals down 27 per cent and onion arrivals down 28 per cent on-month, preventing further decline in veg thali cost," CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics' Director-Research, Pushan Sharma, said.

"We expect prices of vegetables and pulses to stabilise from December as fresh supplies enter the market, providing some respite to the veg thali cost," Sharma added.

On-year, the cost of home-cooked veg thali in November amid elevated tomato and potato prices rose 7 per cent, and of non-veg thali by 2 per cent.

An 11 per cent drop in fuel cost -- from Rs 903 last year for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi to Rs 803 currently - prevented further increase in the thali cost.

For the non-veg thali, an estimated 2 per cent rise in broiler prices led to a stable thali cost.

An estimated decline of 3 per cent (on-year) in broiler prices, which account for 50 per cent of the non-veg thali cost, arrested the cost increase.

"The coming few months are likely to witness year-on-year growth in non-veg thali on account of a low base created from December 2023," Sharma said.