Fruit consumption according to income levels

Pecze, Dénes – Kiss, Oszkár Zsolt – Székely, Géza

Keywords: consumption, fruit, household statistics, income fifths

The aim of this work is to describe changes in fruit consumption in different income levels. Our hypothesis is that in higher income levels the fluctuation of consumption is higher (in absolute values), but relatively it is lower (according to average consumption at a given income level). While consumers with higher incomes have a stronger influence on consumption as a whole (than those with lower incomes), their relative indicator is much more stabilised. This is demonstrated in the case of processed fruits: consumers with the highest income increased their consumption to the highest degree (in absolute values); yet according to their average consumption (relative value) their increase was the lowest. This principle can be found in the case of other fruits as well. Apples, watermelon and tropical fruits are emphasised in this research. As for the relationship between segments with the lowest and highest income, the gap between them has been decreasing since 1997. This fact is due to the consumption fluctuations of those with the highest income (in absolute values). After the research into the above-mentioned products, other important fruits are examined and categorised.

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