Home-cooked vegetarian meals saw a decrease in price in February, while the cost of non-vegetarian thalis went up during the month, as per the latest Crisil report.
The price of a vegetarian thali declined by 2% to INR 27.5 in February compared with the previous month, due to a 14% decrease in onion prices and a 3% decrease in potato prices. The prices of tomatoes and pulses, two other significant components, remained unchanged during this period.
Non-veg thali prices surged to INR 54 in February, up from INR 52 in the previous month.
“The cost of the non-veg thali rose as prices of broilers, which account for ~50% of the cost, increased an estimated 10% on-month due to lower supply amid the spread of bird flu in Andhra Pradesh and increasing temperatures, as well as rising demand ahead of Ramadan,” Crisil noted.
Continue Exploring: Home-cooked meals get cheaper by 3-5% as onion, tomato, and poultry prices decline in December: CRISIL Report
Nevertheless, in comparison to the previous year, thali prices remained elevated, suggesting that consumer inflation is unlikely to decline in February.
The price of a vegetarian thali increased by 7% compared to the previous year, driven by a 29% rise in onion prices and a 38% increase in tomato prices.
Uneven rainfall has adversely impacted onion production. The latest horticulture estimates for 2023-24, released by the government earlier this week, indicate a decrease in crop production.
Onion production is expected to decrease to 25.47 million tonnes, down from approximately 30.21 million tonnes in 2022-23.
“Prices of rice (accounting for 12% of the veg thali cost) and pulses (9%) also increased 14% and 20% on-year, respectively,” Crisil noted.
Non-veg thali cost, on the other hand, is 9% lower compared to the previous year, as broiler prices have eased from the peaks witnessed in 2023.
Experts indicate that inflation print is likely to be higher at than 5.1% in January, owing to a modest increase in food prices in February.
“On a sequential basis, the increase in food CPI was driven by cereals, fruits and meat, which was partly offset by a drop in prices for eggs, pulses and spices,” said Rahul Bajoria, MD & Head of EM Asia (ex-China) Economics, Barclays.
Barclays anticipates that inflation will increase to 5.3% in February.
Continue Exploring: Vegetarian thali gets costlier by 5%, non-veg thali witnesses 13% price decrease: Crisil Report
