Chennai, March 8 (IANS): The cost of vegetarian thali went up by 7 per cent last month (February) as compared to the corresponding period last year, while that of non-vegetarian thali declined 9 per cent, a report by CRISIL Market Intelligence & Analytics said.

According to the CRISIL report, the cost of preparing a vegetarian thali in February this year was Rs 27.50 (Rs 25.6 in February 2023 while that of non-vegetarian thali was Rs 54 (Rs 59.2 in February 2023).

The cost of the vegetarian thali increased due to a surge of 29 per cent and 38 per cent on-year in prices of onion and tomato, respectively. Prices of rice (accounting for 12 per cent of the veg thali cost) and pulses (9 per cent) also increased 14 per cent and 20 per cent on-year, respectively.

The decrease in the cost of the non-veg thali was due to a decline of about 20 per cent on-year in broiler prices on a high base of last fiscal, the report notes.

However, it was mixed news for vegetarians and non-vegetarians when comparing the costs per plate in January and February this year.

According to the report, the cost of the vegetarian thali declined by 2 per cent (from Rs 26 in January 2024) and the non-veg thali (Rs 52 in January 2024) rose by 4 per cent.

The cost of the vegetarian thali eased due to a decline of 14 per cent and 3 per cent on-month in prices of onion and potato, respectively, while prices of tomato and pulses remained flat. The cost of the non-veg thali rose as prices of broilers, which account for about 50 per cent of the cost, increased an estimated 10 per cent on-month due to lower supply amid the spread of bird flu in Andhra Pradesh and increasing temperatures, as well as rising demand ahead of Ramadan.