Cost of home-cooked meals moderately higher in August, says report

The cost of home-cooked meals rose moderately in August, a report said on Tuesday.

The cost of a vegetarian meal increased 1% year-on-year and month-on-month to ₹29.5 per thali, the monthly report by the research arm of domestic rating agency Crisil said.

In the case of a non-vegetarian meal, a 10% jump in broiler prices pushed up the cost of a thali by 5% year-on-year to ₹57.5, the report by Crisil Intelligence said. However, the price was 1 per cent lower from ₹58.3 in July.

Compared with last year, elevated prices of onion, vegetable oil, rice and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) kept the thali cost high despite a decline in potato and tomato prices, it said in the 'Roti Rice Rate' report.

Onion prices jumped 43% in August 2026 to ₹40 per kg, compared with the year-ago period's ₹28 per kg, due to supply tightness caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms in Maharashtra in March-April, it said, adding that there was an 11% jump in vegetable oils and 10% rise in LPG.

However, a 12% decline in potato prices and a 28% fall in tomato price helped limit the overall increase in costs of the thalis, it added. "In the next 2-3 months, onion prices are expected to remain firm due to tight rabi supplies and delayed kharif arrivals," its Director Pushan Sharma said.

Month-on-month, there was a 17% jump in onion prices, but the impact of the same was limited by a 7% decline in tomato prices, it said.

The Shravan month, considered by the Hindus as holy, led to a 4% decline in broiler prices, resulting in the 1% month-on-month decline in the price of the non-veg thali, it said.