Home-Cooked Meal Prices Rise 6% In December Due To Higher Tomato And Potato Costs

Prices of home-cooked meals increased in December on dearer key kitchen staples like tomato and potato, a report said on Monday. The average cost of preparing a vegetarian thali was up 6% at Rs 31.6 per plate in December when compared to the year-ago period's Rs 29.7 but was down from preceding November month's rate of Rs 32.7, the report by a unit of rating agency Crisil said.

In the roti, rice, rate report which seeks to assess the common man's expenditure on food, Crisil found that a non-vegetarian thali cost was higher by 12% on-year and 3% on-month to Rs 63.3 in December.

Explaining the reasons for the costlier food, the report said tomato prices were up 24% at Rs 47 per kg in December, while potato surged 50% to Rs 36 for a kg on a low base. A 16% on-year increase in vegetable oil cost due to import duty hikes by the government aggravated it for the common man, it said.

From an on-year perspective, an 11% drop in LPG fuel rates helped temper the impact of the higher costs, the report said.

In the case of a non-vegetarian thali, a 20% increase in the cost of broiler, which has a 50% weight in calculating the overall meal costs, was the primary reason for the increase in overall meal price on-year, the report said, adding that the surge in prices of poultry is due to a low base.

Compared to November, there was a 12% decline in tomato prices amid fresh supplies from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which helped reduce the cost of vegetarian thali by 3%.

A 12% on-month drop in onion prices and 2% in potato further supported the price decline between November and December, it added.

An 11% surge in the broiler prices due to the cold wave-triggered dip in production, an increase in festive and wedding demand and elevated feed costs led to the 3% growth in the cost of a non-veg thali in December, it said.