Changing consumption pattern of agricultural commodities in Uttar Pradesh: An inter regional analysis

Abstract

The consumption pattern in India underwent a sweeping structural change and now it tends towards assuming a new mobility. India has been projected as the next consumer powerhouse. The economy witnessed structural and compositional changes in the consumption basket of rural and urban sectors and across income groups over the last three decades. Among all states in India, Uttar Pradesh is one of the fastest developing states. The analysis of changing food consumption pattern over time would help in designing appropriate policies related to food production and distribution. Thus the present study empirically revealed striking difference in the consumption pattern of households across rural and urban sectors, regions and income categories in Uttar Pradesh. The findings were in conformity with Engel's law. The analysis of consumption pattern, using two rounds of consumption expenditure survey conducted by NSSO, also revealed a structural shift towards high value agricultural commodities like milk, fruits, vegetables and non-vegetarian products in the state. Structural shift was evident among all the regions, but with inter-regional variations. High disparity among income classes and rural-urban disparities in MPCE were observed. The structural shift and diversification of food basket has definite implications on food security and welfare of the households in state Uttar Pradesh. © 2017 Indian Society of Agricultural Economics. All rights reserved.