Decoded: Why vegetarian thali has become more expensive than non-vegetarian thali

Indian thali (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian) offers a satisfying experience that satiates all five tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy. But, have you ever thought about how much a thali costs in India? As per the latest report by CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited), vegetarian thalis are costlier than non-vegetarian thali for the month of April as compared to April 2023. Scroll down to read why.

The report
As per the May month report released by CRISIL, MIA&A, the cost of vegetarian thali has gone up by 8% in April, while that of a non-veg thali has declined by 4%. The cost of a vegetarian plate, or thali in April was ₹27.4. On the other hand, the cost of a home-cooked non-vegetarian thali declined by 4 per cent to Rs 56.3 on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.

What is there in thali?
According to the Roti Rice Rate (RRR) report, a vegetarian thali comprises roti, onion, tomato, potato, rice, dal, curd, and salad. On the other hand, a non-veg thali has the same dishes as the veg thali, except for dal, which is replaced by chicken or any other meat.

Also Read: Why vegetarian thali has become more expensive than non-vegetarian thali

How do they calculate the the average cost of a thali?
The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data also reveals the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas) driving the change in the cost of the thali.

The reason behind the change in price
The report states, "The cost of the veg thali increased due to a surge of 41%, 40% and 38% on-year in prices of onion, tomato and potato, respectively, on a low base of last fiscal. Lower onion arrivals due to a significant drop in rabi acreage and damage to potato crop in West Bengal led to the price increase."

Earlier in the month of February 2024, it was reported that the reason behind the rise in the cost of a vegetarian thali was due to the increase in prices of tomato and onion, which grew costlier by 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in the last year. Also, the prices of rice and pulses rose by 14 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Also Read:Don't miss out on these 10 delicious thalis of India

The report further states, "Amid lower arrivals, prices of rice (accounting for 13% of the veg thali cost) and pulses (9%) increased 14% and 20% on-year, respectively." Also, the prices of cumin, chilli and vegetable oil has declined by 40%, 31% and 10%, respectively, preventing further increase in the thali cost.

Why non-vegetarian thali is cheaper?
The decrease in the cost of the non-veg thali is due to 12% on-year decline in broiler prices on a high base of last fiscal.

What's more?
Interestingly the report informs that on-month, however, the cost of the veg thali remained stable and non-veg thali rose 3% in last one year. Veg thali remained flat on-month due to a 4% decline in onion prices amid new arrivals coupled with 3% decline in fuel cost, while tomato and potato prices inched up and this led to the cost of the non-veg thali rose due to an estimated 4% increase in prices of broilers, which account for 50% of the cost, due to higher demand and rising input costs.



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