India sees increase in per capita availability of fruits and vegetables: Report

According to SBI Research report, per capita availability of fruits and vegetables in India has increased by 7 kg and 12 kg respectively in the last decade. The main increase in per capita production of fruits and vegetables has occurred in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The report states that India produces 227 kg of fruits and vegetables per capita per year (the general recommendation for intake is at least 146 kg per capita annually). However, due to the inherently perishable nature of the produce, a significant quantity is also lost during harvesting, storage, grading and transportation.
The report also states that the impact of extreme climate on food production is negative. Agricultural production and supply chains have been affected by several heat and cold waves over the past few years. The impact of these heat and cold waves is negative on food grain production as there is a negative relationship between food grain production and extreme weather conditions in most of the states.
According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, wheat yield is reduced for every 1 °C increase in temperature above 30 °C during the grain filling period. These recurring climate shocks have also increased food inflation by 3-4 percent, the report said. As part of the development in the growing economy, the report also said that personal loan data indicates high urbanization in states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over the last decade.
About one-third of India’s total population lived in cities. The report said this trend reflects an increase of more than 5 percent in urbanization over the last decade (2014-2024). “If we look at the credit data on ‘personal loans’ it says there has been an increase of about 115 basis points (bps) in UP, followed by Rajasthan with an increase of 97 bps. It seems that urbanization is increasing in these states. “This increase in urbanization will increase demand for fruits and vegetables as incomes will increase with better jobs in cities,” the report said.

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