Onion, tomato make veg thali costlier by 10% in November

Surge in onion and tomato prices pushed the average cost of preparing a vegetarian thali at home by 10% in November when compared with the previous month while the cost of non-vegetarian thali rose by 5% during the month, data compiled by rating agency CRISIL showed.

Average price of onion surged by 58% in November when compared with the previous month. There has been a sharp fluctuation in the price of tomatoes in recent months. After surging to record highs in July-August, tomato prices had eased in September-October. However, it rose again in November. As per CRISIL data, tomatoes became costlier by 35% in November when compared with the previous month.

The surge in price of onion and tomato has been “prompted by festive demand and lower output in the kharif season due to erratic rainfall conditions,” CRISIL noted in its monthly report titled 'Roti Rice Rate'.

On a year-on-year basis, the cost of a representative home-cooked vegetarian thali rose by 9% in November. This jump is driven by three key items of the Indian household kitchen – onion, tomato and pulses.

Onion price in November 2023 was 93% higher when compared with the same month last year. Tomato prices jumped by 15% year-on-year during the month. Prices of pulses, which account for 9% of an average vegetarian thali cost, surged by 21% in November when compared with the same month last year.

The average cost of preparing a vegetarian thali rose to Rs 30.3 in November from Rs 27.5 in October. In November 2022, this cost stood at Rs 27.7.

On a year-on-year basis there was only a marginal increase in the cost of preparing a non-vegetarian thali. It rose to Rs 61.2 in November 2023 from Rs 61 in November 2022. However, on a month-on-month basis it was costlier by 5%. It stood at Rs 58.4 in October.

These numbers indicate the cost of preparing a thali at home. It is not the retail price of a thali, which includes overhead costs, staff expenses, and profit margins as well. For analysis, items considered for a veg thali include roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. The non-veg thali has the same elements as the veg thali, except that dal is replaced by chicken (broiler).