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The cost of both home-cooked veg and non-veg thalis eased in August as prices of tomatoes and boilers declined in India, a report showed on Friday. 

The effect was seen on both on-year as well as on-month basis, according to Crisil’s monthly indicator of food plate cost. On-year, the decline was steeper at 8 per cent and 12 per cent for home-cooked veg and non-veg thalis, respectively.

Prices of tomato, which accounted for 14 per cent of the veg thali cost in August, declined 51 per cent on-year (from Rs 102 per kg in August 2023 to Rs 50 per kg in August 2024) due to fresh arrivals from southern and western states.

Prices of the three key vegetables showed a divergent trend in August.

“Onion and potato surged by Rs 15 per kg (51 per cent) and Rs 13 per kg (53 per cent) on-year, respectively, due to lower arrivals, while tomato saw a sharp decline of Rs 52 per kg (51 per cent) due to fresh supplies,” said Pushan Sharma, Director-Research, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics.

A 27 per cent drop in fuel cost – to Rs 803 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi in March 2024 from Rs 1,103 in August 2023 – contributed to the decline.

Moreover, prices of vegetable oil, chilli and cumin, which together account for less than 5 per cent of the veg thali cost, eased 6 per cent, 30 per cent and 58 per cent on-year, respectively

For a non-veg thali, the cost decline was due to an estimated 1-3 per cent on-month decline in broiler prices due to the Shravan month in August, when non-veg consumption drops.

However, a 2 per cent and 3 per cent on-month rise in the prices of potato and onion, respectively, prevented further decline in the thali cost, the report mentioned.

According to Sharma, 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.