Cost of home-cooked food drops with cheaper tomato, fuel price

In its monthly 'Roti Rice Rate' report, Crisil said tomato prices came down to Rs 50 a kg — a 23 per cent decline on month and a 51 per cent drop on year — was one of the major reasons for the decline in the meal prices.

New Delhi: The cost of preparing vegetarian food at home dropped by 8% year-on-year while that for non-vegetarian food by 12% in August, supported by a significant reduction in prices of tomato, vegetable oil, spices and broiler, data analysed by ratings agency CRISIL showed on Friday.

Prices of tomato, which accounted for 14% of a vegetarian thali cost in August, declined 51% year-on-year due to fresh arrivals from southern and western states. Tomato price declined to around Rs 50 per kg in August 2024 from over Rs 100 per kg in the same month last year.

A significant drop in the prices of cooking gas, vegetable oil and spices also contributed to the decline in the cost of home-cooked food. Price of a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi declined to Rs 803 in March 2024 from Rs 1,103 in August 2023, a drop of 27% during this period.

Prices of vegetable oil, chilli and cumin, which together account for around 5% of a veg thali cost, eased 6%, 30% and 58% on-year, respectively during the month under review.

However, the prices of onion and potato jumped.

Price of onion in August 2024 was 51% higher when compared with the same month last year while potato became costlier by 53%.

"The decline in vegetarian thali cost is largely due to tomato prices, which are expected to decline further with fresh supplies from western and southern states coming into the market," said Pushan Sharma, Director- Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics.

However, potato prices are likely to remain firm on account of low production on-year due to late blight infestations in key producing states such as Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Onion prices, on the other hand, could see a further uptick in the near term given the approaching festive season and tight rabi supplies until the kharif stock starts arriving in mandis, Sharma added.

In the case of non-vegetarian thali the decline in price was even sharper. The cost of preparing a non-veg thali in August was 12% lower when compared with the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis it declined by 3%.

The price of broiler chicken, which accounts for around 50% of the cost of a non-veg thali, dropped by 13% year-on-year in August.

For standardisation, the agency has assumed that a veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, and potato), rice, dal, curd, and salad. For a non-vegetarian thali, chicken has been considered instead of dal.

The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India, CRISIL noted in its monthly report.