Think food prices are high in India? These graphics will surprise you

Food inflation has been the bugbear of the Indian economy over the past few years. In fact, inflation rose to five-month high to 6.01 percent in May due to rise in prices of essential items like vegetables, fruits and cereals.

Food, of course, occupies one of the largest share of a consumer’s expenditure. But, how much does India spend on food compared with the rest of the world? Rs 13,200 ($220) per person per year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture – Economic Research Service , that’s the lowest amount that a country spends on food.

Amount spent on food

The graph shows that big countries like united States and united Kingdom spend 10 times more on food than India. In fact, Pakistan also spends more than India on food–$415 per person per year. That’s Rs 24,900 in Indian currency.

However, it is to be noted that India’s percentage of consumer expenditure on food is not too less. In fact, at 25.2 percent, Indians spend a large share of their expenditure on food. In comparison, the US spends only 6.6 percent and UK 9 percent.

The below graph shows this:

Share on food

On an average, a consumer in India spends about Rs 52,260 per year on consumption, of which Rs 13,200 goes in food.