In the month of September, the kitchen budget of ordinary families has been disrupted once again. The effect of inflation on everyday home-cooked food is evident. According to rating agency CRISIL’s latest ‘Roti Rice Rate’ report, home-cooked vegetarian thali prices rose by 10 per cent year-on-year in September. At the same time, the non-vegetarian thali has also gone up by 6 percent.

If we look at the figures, the cost of making a veg thali which was Rs 28.1 in September last year has now increased to Rs 30.8. Similarly, the price of non-veg thali has also increased from Rs 56 to Rs 59.5. If we look at month-to-month basis, veg thali has become expensive by 4 percent and non-veg thali by 3 percent as compared to August.

Onion price surged by 89%

The biggest reason behind this rising kitchen cost is the steep rise in onion prices. According to the report, there was an 89 percent jump in onion prices year-on-year in September. The price of onion which was available at the price of Rs 28 per kg in the same month last year has reached Rs 53 per kg this year. Onion production fell by 5 to 6 percent in the rabi season, leaving the old stock in the market very low. Along with this, there was 40 percent less rain than normal in June this year. Lack of rain delayed the sowing of kharif crops and delayed the arrival of the new crop in the mandis. A huge increase of 34 percent has been recorded in the price of onion in just one month.

Oil, rice, LPG cylinders have also become expensive

Not only onions have increased the cost of the thali, but other kitchen essentials have also put a burden on the pocket. According to the report, the price of edible oil has increased by 12 percent in a year. The central government reduced the basic customs duty on palm oil, but global tensions and the impact of El Nino affected production in the international market. Which had a direct impact on local prices.

Apart from this, domestic LPG cylinder prices have also increased by 10 percent year-on-year due to global supply problems. At the same time, the price of rice also increased by 8 percent. Rice production is expected to decline by 5 to 6 percent this year due to a decline in paddy acreage and poor production, which has pushed up prices.

Cause of slow speed in non-veg thali

Non-vegetarian thali prices have not increased as much as compared to vegetarian thali. The main reason for this is the slight change in the price of broiler chicken. Broiler chicken accounts for about 50 percent of the total cost of the entire non-veg thali. According to the report, broiler prices increased by only 2 percent in September both year-on-year and month-on-month. Although low numbers of chicks, supply disruptions due to rains and high prices of feed maize pressured the poultry sector, inflation in the non-vegetarian plate was limited to 6 percent due to low chicken prices.

Price trends during the festive season

According to the CRISIL report, onion prices can see a sharp rise in the first 15 days of October on an annual basis. Due to increased demand during festivals, there will be pressure on supply in the market, due to which prices will remain high. However, the relief is that by the end of October when the new kharif crop starts arriving in the markets on a large scale, onion prices are expected to come down gradually. Till then the common man will have to face this increased cost in the kitchen budget.