Veg thali turns 11% costlier as food prices simmer in Sept

Vegetable inflation pushes thali prices up in September

The ubiquitous Indian veg thali turned 11 percent costlier in September, thanks to a rise in food prices, shows data released by Crisil on October 4.

“Prices of onion, potato and tomato rose 53 percent, 50 percent and 18 percent on-year, respectively, in September because of lower onion and potato arrivals, while heavy rainfall impacted tomato output in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra,” said Crisil.

The cost of a veg thali at Rs 31.3 was also 10 paise higher than the previous month. Vegetables account for 37 percent of the cost of a thali.

Pulses, which account for 9 percent of the cost of a thali, recorded a 14 percent jump in prices, compared with the previous year. Pulses acreage in kharif season has been lower compared with the previous year.

“For the non-veg thali, an estimated decline of 13 percent on-year in broiler prices, which account for 50 percent of the non-veg thali cost, provided some relief,” Crisil pointed out. Sequentially, the prices remained unchanged at Rs 59.3 for non-veg thalis.

Dim hopes of rate cut

Rising food prices have further dimmed the prospect of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in its meeting from October 7-9. The central bank kept the policy rate unchanged at 6.5 percent for the ninth consecutive time at its last meeting in August.

Economists in an MC poll had pegged a 25-bp rate cut in the December review meet. However, given volatile food prices and geopolitical uncertainty with the widening of the Middle East conflict, such prospects have turned bleak.