August thali costs rise as onion, oil, LPG and chicken offset cheaper potato and tomato
CRISIL Intelligence estimates the cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali rose 1% year-on-year to ₹29.50 in August, while a non-vegetarian thali rose 5% to ₹57.50. Onion prices climbed 43%, with edible oil, LPG and broiler chicken also higher, sustaining pressure on household food budgets.
What happened
Crisil Intelligence · CRISIL data showed India’s home-cooked veg thali cost rose 1% and non-veg thali 5% year-on-year in August. Higher onion, edible-oil, LPG
Key facts
- Vegetarian thali cost: ₹29.50 in August, up 1% year-on-year
- Non-vegetarian thali cost: ₹57.50 in August, up 5% year-on-year
- Onion price: ₹40/kg, up 43% year-on-year and 17% month-on-month
- Edible oil prices: up 11% year-on-year
- LPG cylinder prices: up 10% year-on-year
- Potato prices: down 12% year-on-year
- Tomato prices: down 28% year-on-year and 7% month-on-month
- Broiler chicken prices: up 10% year-on-year, down an estimated 4% month-on-month
- Rabi onion production: estimated down 5-6%
- Rabi potato production: estimated up 2-3%
Why this matters
Elevated volatility in core ingredients strengthens the strategic case for acquiring or partnering with local sourcing, cold-chain, private-label and procurement platforms that can reduce food-cost exposure.
What to watch
- Wholesale and retail onion price movement after new-crop arrivals and government buffer-stock releases.
- Edible-oil import prices, rupee movement and any import-duty or policy changes.
- Domestic LPG price revisions and their effect on home-cooking versus food-service economics.
- Broiler feed costs, poultry supply and chicken retail-price trends.
- Private-label penetration, basket-size changes, downtrading into smaller packs and value-format footfall.
- Restaurant same-store sales, order frequency and menu-price elasticity in chicken-heavy formats.
- Protect entry-price points in staple categories while passing through inflation in premium, convenience and protein-led SKUs.
- Expand private-label edible oils, staples, sauces and meal solutions; emphasize value packs and smaller affordable pack sizes.
- Recalibrate restaurant and ready-food menus toward vegetarian, egg and lower-chicken-content options; use targeted rather than broad-based price hikes.
- Increase onion sourcing flexibility through regional procurement, inventory planning and supplier contracts ahead of seasonal volatility.
- Use loyalty and app data to target promotions at price-sensitive households rather than running margin-dilutive blanket discounts.