Per capita cereal consumption below 10 kg in rural areas in 2022-23: Survey

The monthly per capita cereal consumption in rural areas stood below 10 kg in 2022-23, according to the latest report of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday.

The consumption of cereals in rural households declined to 9.61 kg in 2022-23 from 11.23 kg in 2011-12, while in urban households, it declined to 8.05 kg from 9.32 kg over the same period. 

The data shows that consumption of cereals in rural areas was highest in West Bengal (11.23 kg), followed by Odisha (11.21 kg), Bihar (11.14 kg), Rajasthan (10.55 kg) and Chattisgarh (10.27 kg). Among urban areas, people in Bihar consumed the highest (10.45 kg) of cereals, followed by Chhattisgarh (10.43 kg), Jharkhand (9.59 kg) and Rajasthan (9.50 kg).

Among the cereals, the share of rice in rural areas stood at 55.35 per cent, followed by (40.93 per cent) and coarse grain (3.48 per cent). Similarly, in urban areas, the share of rice in cereal consumption stood at 53.20 per cent, followed by wheat (44.53 per cent) and coarse grains (2.09 per cent).      

Earlier in February, MoSPI released a factsheet on the consumption expenditure which showed that the average spending on non-food items by rural India surpassed the 50 per cent mark for the first time in 2022-23, with a decrease in the proportion of total expenditure now allocated to food items. 

The survey results released after 11 years show that as a share of monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), spending on food items in rural India decreased to 46.38 per cent in 2022-23 from 52.9 per cent in 2011-12. In urban India, this proportion declined further to 39.17 per cent in 2022-23 from 42.62 per cent in 2011-12.

The latest unit data released on Friday is expected to play a pivotal role in reviewing critical economic indicators such as the consumer price index (CPI), the gross domestic product (GDP), and poverty levels.

According to the latest survey, the average MPCE in Indian households rose by 33.5 per cent since 2011-12 in urban households to Rs 3,510, with rural India’s MPCE seeing a 40.42 per cent increase over the same period to hit Rs 2,008.