Food Inflation in May 2026: There is bad news for the general public on the inflation front. In fact, the cost of home-cooked food and thali has increased sharply. The prices of thali have increased due to rising prices of tomatoes in the month of May. According to the new Roti Rice Rate (RRR) report by CRISIL Intelligence, the cost of veg thali (vegetarian) has increased by 5 percent compared to last year, while non-veg (non-vegetarian) thali has become costlier by 7 percent compared to this period last year.

The rise in the cost of home-cooked meals follows a modest increase in April, highlighting how food inflation pressures have increased in recent weeks as prices of vegetables and cooking gas have increased.

Impact of rising tomato prices

Tomato prices have seen an increase of 57 percent in May compared to last year. During the same period last year, tomato was priced at Rs 23 per kg, which increased to Rs 36 per kg this year. Along with this, there was a decline of 3 to 4 percent in the production of tomato. This sharp increase in tomato prices has been due to reduction in the area of ​​summer crop and damage to the crop due to extreme heat in major producing areas.

Tomato became expensive by 23%

According to Pushpan Sharma, Director of CRISIL Intelligence, tomatoes, vegetable oil and rising prices of lpg Due to this, the cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis has increased by 5 percent and 7 percent year-on-year in May. Additionally, among vegetables, tomato prices increased by 23 percent month-on-month, putting further pressure on household budgets already strained by increased food and energy costs.

Vegetable oil prices rose 8 per cent year-on-year, while LPG prices rose 7 per cent due to ongoing global supply disruptions.

Potatoes and onions may become expensive

Tomatoes were the main reason for the rise in thali prices in May, but consumers may soon face another challenge from onions and potatoes. Interestingly, both the vegetables provided some relief during the month. Potato prices were 14% lower than last year due to higher Rabi crop and disposal of cold storage stocks. After the arrival of the new Rabi crop, onion prices also decreased by 6% compared to last year.

price of non veg thali

Reasons for rising prices of broiler chicken non-vegetarian thali The increase in cost was even higher. Almost half of the total cost of non-vegetarian food is spent on chicken. According to CRISIL, prices of broiler chickens increased by about 9% year-on-year. Coupled with rising prices of tomatoes, vegetable oil and LPG, this increase significantly increased the cost of non-vegetarian food.