Gujarat tops in per capita food, non-food spending: Assocham

Kolkata : While Gujarat holds the numero uno position in the rate of growth in per capita food, non-food and FMCG consumption expenditures across India, West Bengal has the lowest growth rate on these fronts, says a study by industry body Assocham.

The study – ‘Evolution of Indian Rural Markets During 2004-05 to 2009-10‘ – released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said Gujarat garnered maximum growth in per capita food and non-food consumption spending during the period with growth rates of about 28 percent and 33 percent respectively.

The western state also topped in terms of household consumption of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) during the five-year period, registering a growth of about 24.69 percent.

West Bengal, however, saw growth of just about 1.6 percent and about eight percent in per capita food and non-food consumption expenditure respectively during the period, said the study.

“The per capita food and non-food consumption expenditure across India has increased at a pace of over 14 percent and 17 percent respectively during 2004-05 and 2009-10,” said D.S. Rawat, Assocham’s national secretary general.

“Household consumption of FMCG across India has registered a growth rate of over 11 percent during the aforesaid period,” said Rawat, according to a release.

Apart from Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra have registered a growth rate of about 24 percent in per capita food consumption expenditure across India.

Households in Kerala, Punjab and Haryana spend highest on non-food consumer items as these have registered an average monthly household expenditure on non-food items worth over Rs.3,078, Rs.2,883 and Rs.2,580, respectively.

Odisha (Rs.936), Bihar and Jharkhand (Rs.1,051) and West Bengal (Rs.1,071), however, had the lowest monthly household expenditure on non-food items during the five-year period, the study said.