India eats more eggs than its neighbours, still lags behind globally: report
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New Delhi: Indians eat more eggs than Pakistanis in annual average intake since 2018 with consuming 4.6 kilograms (shell weight) of eggs per person by 2022, according to a study.
The change in diet comes from rising incomes, better access to food, and increasing awareness about the dietary protein, according to NDTV.
Though Indians ate more eggs per capita than Pakistanis between 1961 and 1976, Pakistan finally came up close before marching ahead and retaining the lead till 2013, according to analysis sourced from 'Our World in Data'.
India has now outpaced other countries in the region including Bangladesh (3.6 kg), Sri Lanka(3.7 kg), and Nepal(2kg) in per capita consumption.
This does not mean the country’s love of eggs is uniquely placed, because India still consumes less than half the global average.
In 2022, global per capita egg consumption was 10.4 kilograms - more than twice India's 4.6 kg.
The Asian giant has to go a long way eating more eggs than it does now to cover the ground to match global consumption rate.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics (2023-24) puts India’s monthly per capita food expenditure at Rs 1,939 in rural areas and Rs 2,776 in urban areas.
The rural households, according to the report, spend about 47% of their total monthly consumption on food, where urban households spend around 40%.
While urban Indians spend 11.1 per cent monthly on soft drinks, chips, and ready-to-eat foods, the rural Indians allocate 9.8 of the monthly spending for such items.
