Ratio of Food Consumption to Spending Has Dropped in Urban and Rural Areas Since 1978

     According to China General Chamber of Commerce and the China National Commercial Information Center, China’s Engel’s Coefficient (the proportion of food consumption in total spending) has gone down by 19.6 percent and 24 percent respectively urban and rural since 1978. Statistics show that the urban Engel’s coefficient has fallen from 57.5 percent in 1978 to 37.9 percent in 2008, while that of rural areas has decreased from 67.7 percent in 1978 to 43.7 percent in 2008. In addition, a wider variety of food is available on the market and people are putting more and more emphasis on nutrition and a healthy diet. In better-off urban areas, the consumption of poultry, eggs, aquatic products, alcohol and fresh dairy products has all increased substantially.