The cost of a home-cooked meal in India kept rising in September, according to Crisil Intelligence figures reported by AgroSpectrum. A vegetarian thali cost 10% more than a year earlier and a non-vegetarian thali 6% more, with higher prices for onions, rice, edible oils and cooking gas. Crisil calculates the cost from input prices across north, south, east and west India.
Onions led the rise, up 89% year on year to Rs 53 a kg from Rs 28, as tighter rabi stocks met an estimated 5-6% fall in production. June rainfall 40% below normal delayed kharif transplanting and the new crop. Vegetable oil rose 12% despite a cut in the basic customs duty on palm oil, on geopolitical uncertainty and concern about El Niño's effect on palm oil output; LPG was 10% dearer, and rice 8% dearer on expectations of a 5-6% fall in paddy output.
The non-vegetarian thali rose less because broiler chicken, about half its cost, was up only 2% year on year. Month on month, the vegetarian thali rose 4% and the non-vegetarian 3%, with onions up 34% in a month.
"Onion prices could remain elevated in the first half of October owing to delayed Kharif arrivals, before easing gradually towards the end of October," said Pushan Sharma, director at Crisil Intelligence. Tomato and potato prices may also firm, and pulses, especially tur, face weather risks before harvests from January. Sharma expects thali costs to stay high in the near term despite some relief from fresh crops later in the season.
Photo: PrashuKalyan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: AgroSpectrum
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