Home-cooked meals become dearer in September as onion, potato prices shoot up: Report

Home-cooked meals became dearer in September compared to a year ago as prices of onion, potato and tomatoes shot up, a report said on Friday.

A vegetarian meal cost went up 11% over year to ₹31.3 in September from ₹28.1 in September 2023, and inched up from ₹31.2 in the preceding August, as per the report by domestic rating agency Crisil.

Attributing the rise to firming up in the vegetable prices that account for 37% of a thali cost, the "roti, rice, rate" report elaborated on the factors affecting the overall cost.

"Prices of onion, potato and tomato rose 53%, 50% and 18% on-year, respectively, in September because of lower onion and potato arrivals, while heavy rainfall impacted tomato output in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra," it explained.

Prices of pulses jumped 14% on year due a drop in production, while fuel dropped 11% due to a price cut earlier in the year, the report said.

In the case of a non-vegetarian thali, the meal cost dropped by 2% on year to ₹59.3 on a 13% decline in broiler prices which have a 50% weightage.

A non-veg meal cost, which also includes the payouts on vegetables but dal gets replaced with broiler, was flat compared to the rate in August, the report said.