Decoding the Dairy Dilemma: India’s Milk Discrepancy

By Kuldeep Sharma•Published on March 01, 2024

This week the government of India has released the long awaited Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23. The survey has covered the whole of the Indian Union except a few inaccessible villages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Information in the survey has been collected from 8,723 villages and 6,115 urban blocks spread over the entire country covering 2,61,746 households (1,55,014 in rural areas and 1,06,732 in urban areas).

Survey on Household Consumption Expenditure Fact Sheet: 2022-23

We will scrutinize this survey report with a focus on consumer spending, particularly on food products and, subsequently, milk and its derivatives. Over the last two decades, there has been a consistent decline in the percentage share of Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) allocated to food items. This noteworthy trend is discernible in both rural and urban demographics. From an economic perspective, this decline signifies a positive indicator of prosperity. It’s not merely a reduction in the share of spending on food, but also a decline in the proportion of expenditure allocated to cereals within the broader food category.