In 2022–2023 rural India spent the most money on processed foods and beverages: Survey

Food makes up between 39 percent and 54 percent of rural families' total consumption expenditures in Kerala, Bihar, and Assam.

In rural India in 2022–2023 food made up around 46% of the typical household consumption in these areas.

According to a Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation study issued on June 7, the rural sector spent 9.6% of their food expenditure on drinks and processed foods, with milk and milk products accounting for the remaining 8.3%. These figures represent the sector's spending patterns for 2022–2023.

In rural India in 2022–2023 food made up around 46% of the typical household consumption in these areas. In rural India, veggies make up 5.38 percent of the food items consumed. According to the report on Household Consumption spending: 2022–2023 cereals and cereal replacements contributed 4.91 percent of the spending.

Food accounted for about 39% of Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) in urban India in 2022–2023. Similar to rural India, beverages, snacks, and processed food accounted for the largest portion of this expenditure (10.64%), followed by milk and milk products (7.22%), fruits, and vegetables (3.8%), and milk and milk products.

The value of homegrown produce eaten by oneself, assessed at ex-farm prices, is included in food expenditures. It also includes the worth of food imputed at current local retail prices that is freely obtained, for instance, from forests.

Food makes up between 39 percent and 54 percent of rural families' total consumption expenditures in Kerala, Bihar, and Assam. In Telangana, the percentage of food expenditures in consumer expenditures is 35 percent; in Assam and Bihar, it is 47 percent.

In the rural sector, nearly all of the major states have the highest percentage of beverages and processed foods consumed overall, with the exception of Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, which have the highest percentages of milk and milk products, and Kerala, which has the highest percentages of eggs, fish, and meat.

Except for Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, where the largest percentage of consumption has been for milk and milk products, practically all major states' total food expenditures have been concentrated in the urban sector and have been primarily driven by drinks and processed foods.