Thali Cost
Cost of meals in Oct down as vegetables, pulses prices fall, says CRISIL arm
This story was originally published at 19:52 IST on 7 November 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025
MUMBAI – A steep fall in the prices of vegetables and pulses brought down the cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals in October by 17% and 12%, respectively, from a year-ago levels, according to CRISIL Intelligence. The average cost of vegetarian thali in October was INR 27.8 while that of non-vegetarian thali was INR 54.4 in October, it said in a release Friday.
The prices of potato, a major ingredient in Indian meals, slid 31% in the month with a rise in the production in rabi season 2024-25 by 3-4% on year. Tomato, another major ingredient, saw its prices falling a hefty 40% on the back of higher supplies.
Onion prices plummeted 51% on year due to higher stock availability from the previous rabi season as also subdued exports. "Traders have been offloading the rabi season stocks in anticipation of fresh kharif arrivals in November," the release said. Moreover, prices of pulses fell 17% as imports of Bengal gram, yellow pea and black gram surged in recent months, raising their availability.
On other hand, vegetable oil prices darted up 11% on year in October owing to higher demand during the festival season. Additionally, a 6% on-year increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas cylinder limited a further decline in the overall cost of meals.
The fall in the cost of a non-vegetarian thali fell relatively less than that of vegetarian thali because broiler prices fell by a moderate 6% on year. Broilers account for about half of the thali cost, it said. "The decline in the non-veg thali cost was on account of an estimated 4% on-month drop in broiler prices amid oversupply," it noted.
Nevertheless, compared with a month ago position, the cost of vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis fell only 1% and 3%, respectively, in October. Onion and tomato prices slipped 3% and 8% on month, respectively, while prices of other input remained largely stable, said the release.
Explaining the methodology of its calculation, the release said: "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."
It also said: "A veg thali comprises roti, vegetables (onion, tomato and potato), rice, dal, curd and salad. A non-veg thali has the same elements, except dal, which is replaced by chicken (broiler); broiler prices are estimated figures; weightage of ingredients does not vary based on volatility in commodity prices."
However, going further, the scenario may change a bit. "In the medium term, onion prices could see a moderate rise, as excess rainfall in August and September in key producer states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra has delayed kharif transplantation and raised yield concerns," according to Pushan Sharma, Director, CRISIL Intelligence. Also, potato prices are expected to remain firm in November because of low supplies of the early rabi crop, but may ease after cold storages release their stocks by mid-December, he said in an accompanying note
Tomato prices are likely to stay soft amid continued kharif arrivals. Prices of pulses may inch up in the near term, reflecting the impact of excess rainfall on kharif yields and the recent imposition of a 30% import duty on yellow peas. Should the government extend the import duties to other pulses, prices could witness a steeper rise, Sharma pointed out. End
US$1 = INR 88.66
Reported by Abhijit Doshi
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
