Food prices rose for the second month in a row in June after a seven-month cooling streak, Crisil said in a report on food plate costs that estimated a 5.2% spike in the price of a typical vegetarian thali and an almost 3% increase in the price of a non-veg thali when compared with April price levels.
While the prices of both these plates of food were 5% lower than in June 2022, helped by a sharp dip in vegetable and edible oil prices, an uptick in the prices of cereals, pulses and chicken had capped the year-on-year reduction.
Several items featuring in the plates registered sharp year-on-year jumps, including rice, pulses and atta. Tomato prices played a key role in pushing up thali prices month-on-month, Crisil said, with a 3% sequential increase in tur and gram prices in June also contributing.
“High prices of wheat atta, which spurted 9% on-year in June, has limited the decline in thali cost; Prices of rice and pulses inched up 12% and 8% on-year, respectively, in June, preventing further decline in the cost of a veg thali,” it noted.
