CHENNAI: The common man’s daily platter has become significantly costlier over the past year, driven by price hikes across essential ingredients, including vegetables, meat, oil, cooking gas, and other household staples.
In January, the average cost of a typical food plate in Indian kitchens, based on prevailing input prices across North, South, East, and West India, showed an increase of 2% for vegetarian thalis and 17% for non-vegetarian thalis compared to January 2024. This monthly change underscores the growing impact on household expenditure.
"The cost of preparing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis has risen year-on-year in January 2025. However, the rate of increase varies significantly—while the cost of a vegetarian thali rose by 2%, the cost of a non-vegetarian thali surged by 17%." says Pushan Sharma, Director of Research at Crisil Intelligence.
The steep rise in the cost of the non-vegetarian thali was primarily driven by a 33% year-on-year increase in broiler chicken prices. This surge follows a low base in the previous year, when chicken prices fell due to an excess supply.
The cost of non-vegetarian thalis is expected to remain elevated due to the ongoing low-base effect, which will continue to push broiler prices higher. Additionally, the rising cost of feed—driven by increased maize prices—is likely to contribute further to higher broiler prices, exerting upward pressure on the overall cost of non-vegetarian thalis.
Crisil Rating’s monthly food plate cost indicator shows that the price of potatoes surged by 35% year-on-year, rising from Rs 23/kg in January 2024 to Rs 31/kg in January 2025. The price of pulses also rose by 7% year-on-year in January 2025, primarily due to a 7% dip in production between July 2023 and June 2024, resulting in lower opening stocks. Vegetable oil prices jumped by 17% year-on-year, influenced by increased import duties.
On a positive note, the cost of LPG fuel saw an 11% decrease year-on-year, dropping from Rs 903 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in January 2024 to Rs 803 in January 2025, providing some relief.
In summary, while the cost of the vegetarian thali saw a modest increase, the non-vegetarian thali experienced a significant price surge, largely due to a sharp rise in broiler chicken prices, which account for approximately 50% of the cost. This rise is further exacerbated by high feed costs.