How India eats: Rural Vs urban spending habits

By Priyanka Deshpande

CNBC-TV18.com

Published June 13, 2024

Rural India spent 46.38% of its household consumption expenditure towards food in the 2022-23 period, the latest consumption survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revealed.

In comparison, urban households in India spent 39.17% of their monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) on food during the same period. Here is a breakdown of the share of different food items in the MPCE for both rural and urban India:

Cereals & cereal substitutes

Rural: 4.91%

Urban: 3.64%

Pulses & their products

Rural: 2.01%

Urban: 1.39%

Sugar & salt

Rural: 0.93%

Urban: 0.60%

Milk & milk products

Rural: 8.33%

Urban: 7.22%

Vegetables

Rural: 5.38%

Urban: 3.80%

Fruits

Rural: 3.71%

Urban: 3.80%

Eggs, fish & meat

Rural: 4.91%

Urban: 3.57%

Edible oil

Rural: 3.59%

Urban: 2.37%

Spices

Rural: 2.98%

Urban: 2.13%

Beverages, refreshment & processed food

Rural: 9.62%

Urban: 10.64%