Cheaper vegetables bring down thali cost in March: Crisil

Easing tomato prices helped cool down thali costs

A drop in vegetable prices brought down the cost of a home cooked meal for the fifth consecutive month in March, data released by Crisil shows.

The cost of a vegetarian thali declined 2 percent to Rs 26.6 in March from Rs 27.2 in the previous month. Over the year, the price was down 3 percent.

The drop in the price of the non-vegetarian thali was sharper, aided by a fall in the prices of tomatoes and broiler chicken over bird flu fear. The non-vegetarian home cooked meal was at a 13-month low in March at Rs 54.8. It cost Rs 57.4 in the previous month.

“Tomato prices declined 34 percent on-year to Rs 21 a kg in March 2025 from Rs 32 a kg in March 2024. Arrival of tomato crop across the country rose 29 percent — the increase was particularly in the southern states, which had a robust rabi crop due to increased acreage and better yield on-year amid healthy reservoir levels,” Crisil said.

The decline in cost was capped by a 2 percent rise in potato prices, 6 percent for onion and 19 percent for vegetable oil over the year.

Sequentially, onion and potato were down 5 and 7 percent.

Bird flu scare also kept prices of non-vegetarian meals from rising.

“The cost of a non-vegetarian thali declined owing to an estimated 7 percent on-month drop in broiler prices. Our interactions suggest elevated supply in the north, coupled with slower demand amid a bird flu scare in the south, led to the dip,” Crisil said.

India’s inflation is likely to stay around the 4 percent target in March. Economists expect the Reserve Bank of India to deliver a rate cut in its meeting this week and another one in June.

After the US announced war on the global trade with its tariff salvo, economists have raised the possibility of another cut this year.