THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Would you believe it? The spend on liquor and tobacco in an average Keralite’s home budget is peanuts! And not just that. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey for 2022-23 has more surprises in store. People’s spending on liquor and tobacco in the state has come down over the years!
As per the survey, residents in rural Kerala spent 1.88% of their total household expenditure on liquor and tobacco and those in urban areas 1.37%. The national average for rural and urban areas is 3.70% and 2.41% respectively. Kerala has the second-lowest spending on intoxicants in the country.
Among all states and UTs, the highest spending for rural areas is in Andaman and Nicobar (9.08%) and for urban areas Arunachal Pradesh (6.51%). The lowest spending for rural areas is in Goa (1.52%) and for urban areas Maharashtra (1.14%).
In the previous edition of the survey held in 2011-12, Keralites’ spending on liquor and tobacco was 2.68% for rural areas and 1.87% for urban areas.
A comparison of the two survey reports reveal certain changes in people’s consumption pattern. The share of food items in total expenditure saw a decline — from 42.99% in 2012 to 39.10% now for rural areas and 36.97% to 36.01% for urban areas.
Expenditure on ‘conveyance’ almost doubled for rural areas
Among food items, share of cereals dipped from 5.38% to 2.96% in rural areas, and 4.57% to 2.52% in urban areas. While the share of milk increased, that of vegetable and fruits came down. The category “egg, fish and meat” had the biggest share among food items in both surveys.
Among non-food expenditure, the share of ‘conveyance’ has almost doubled for rural areas — from 6.09% in 2012 to 11.52% in 2023.
For urban areas, the figure rose from 7.11% to 10.61%. The share of hospitalisation expense rose from 3.48% to 4.33% for rural areas and 3.03% to 3.41% for urban areas.
Medical (non-hospitalisation) expense rose from 5.68% to 6.57% for rural areas and 5.03% pc to 5.80% for urban areas.