less meat a little more fruits and vegetables

The share of food expenditure devoted to vegetables has increased by 1% since 2009. Wealthy households in particular have increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables. At the same time, meat consumption has decreased by 2%.

The French spend 1/5 of their monthly income on food

The French are spending less of their monthly income on food. According to the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc), French people’s food expenditure currently represents 22% of their total consumption budget, compared to 35% in the 1960s. This marked decline began in the 1980s and reached a low of around 20% in the mid-2000s. Since then, this share devoted to food has remained relatively stable, but fluctuates slightly depending on inflation, which particularly affects food products.

The weight of the food budget obviously differs according to socio-professional categories. Workers devote a larger share of their budget to food compared to executives, which highlights a financial inequality between these groups. On average, the French spend 81 euros per week on food, or 324 euros per month.calculated the Crédoc. It should be noted that this is the amount “per consumption unit”, in other words per adult person.

Meat remains the main item of food expenditure, even if its consumption is decreasing

So how is this food budget distributed? According to INSEE, the French spend 23% of their food budget on meat products, 15% on dairy products and 10% on bread and cereals. Vegetables account for 9%, alcoholic beverages and seafood for 8% each, followed by fruits (7%), sugary products (7%), non-alcoholic beverages (6%), hot drinks (3%), oils and fats (2.5%) and eggs (1.2%).

Since 2009, the share of the budget dedicated to meat products has decreased by almost 2%, indicating a change in eating habits, even among wealthy households. Spending on dairy products also fell by about 1%, especially among low-income households. On the other hand, spending on vegetables increased by almost 1%, with a more marked increase among wealthy households (+1%) compared to modest households (+0.3%). Purchases of fresh fruit increased by almost 3%, particularly for exotic fruits (+26%), while purchases of fruits such as apples and pears decreased by 8%.

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