Veg thali gets costlier in February

The vegetarian platter becomes 7% costlier in February, mainly due to the rising onion and tomato prices. On the other hand, softer poultry prices led to non-veg thali becoming cheaper by 9 per cent, ratings agency Crisil Market Intelligence and Analysis said in its monthly “Roti Rice Rate” report.

The cost of a vegetable thali, which includes roti, vegetables (onions, tomatoes and potatoes), rice, dal, curd and salad, increased to Rs 27.5 per plate in February from Rs 25.6 in the year-ago period, it said.
The prices of onion and tomato have increased by 29% and 38%, respectively against last year. Even rice and pulses have become costlier, the report said.

Month on month, the thali was cheaper when compared with the Rs 28 in January. In the case of non-veg thali, where dal gets replaced by chicken, the price declined to Rs 54 as compared to Rs 59.2 in the year-ago period, but was higher when compared with January’s Rs 52.

A 20 per cent decline in the cost of the broiler prices, which has a 50 per cent weightage in the overall price, was the primary reason for the decline in the cost of non-veg thali on a year-on-year basis, it said.

When compared with January, the prices of broiler increased by 10 per cent on the bird flu outbreak in Andhra Pradesh impacting supply and higher demand ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, the report said.

(With inputs from PTI)