Mumbai. The average cost of a vegetarian thali increased by nine percent in May. A report released on Thursday attributed this to the rise in the prices of onions, tomatoes and potatoes. The monthly ‘Roti Chawal Rate’ report of Crisil Market Intelligence and Analysis said that vegetarian thali has become expensive. However, the cost of non-vegetarian food has come down due to the fall in the price of broiler chicken.
According to the report, the price of vegetarian food increased to Rs 27.8 per plate in May, which was Rs 25.5 in the same period a year ago. Whereas a month ago in April, the vegetarian thali was Rs 27.4. This thali mainly includes roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. The report attributes the total increase in the price of vegetarian thali to a 39 percent increase in the prices of tomatoes, 41 percent in potatoes and 43 percent in onions.
According to the Crisil report, the prices of these vegetables increased due to the low supply of onions due to a huge reduction in the area of Halrabi crop and the low supply of potatoes due to crop failure in West Bengal. Apart from this, the prices of rice and pulses also increased by 13 percent and 21 percent respectively. However, the cost of vegetarian thali did not see any further increase due to the fall in the prices of cumin, chilli and vegetable oil by 37 percent, 25 percent and eight percent respectively.
In contrast, the cost of a non-vegetarian thali fell to Rs 55.9 in May from Rs 59.9 in the same period a year ago. This is also less than the price of Rs 56.3 per thali in April 2024. All other ingredients in the non-vegetarian thali are the same, but chicken meat is used instead of lentils. The report said that a 16 percent decline in the prices of broiler chicken is the main reason for the decline in the cost of non-vegetarian thali on an annual basis. Broiler accounts for 50 percent of the total cost of a non-vegetarian thali.