Production high, but Indians eating less fruits & veggies
Vishwa Mohan
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New Delhi:
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Chennai Tops In Intake, Kol At Bottom
India may be among the highest fruit and vegetable producing countries, but Indians are lacking in adequate intake of these horticultural produce.Though availability is an issue due to barriers in supply chain, the lower intake of fruits and vegetables is largely determined by dietary choice of individuals in India which is skewed towards cereals. Ironically , in a largely vegetarian country, fruits and vegetables account for only 9% of the total calorie intake in the country .
The trend in consumption pattern, however, varies from region to region with people living in south Indian cities consuming more fruits and vegetables as compared to those in the north .
These findings are part of the India's Phytonutrient Report, brought out on Thursday by the Delhi-based think-tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Rela tions (ICRIER). It is based on a survey done across five cities -National Capital Region (Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida), Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata covering 1,001 individuals drawn from upper and middle income groups.
Chennai tops the list with the highest number of servings of fruits and vegetab les, while Kolkata is at the bottom of the list. “The grea ter number of vegetarians and relatively higher income can partly explain the high levels of intake of fruits and vegetables in Chennai and Hyderabad“, says the report.
WHO recommends a daily intake of at least 400 grams (or five daily servings with an average size of 80 grams) of fruits and vegetables, excluding potatoes, cassava and other starchy tubers to “prevent diet-rela ted chronic diseases and micro-nutrient deficiencies“.The report notes that the Indians consume quite less than WHO norms.
The country has, howe ver, been producing fairly good quantity of fruits and vegetables. India had during 2013-14 produced 88.98 million metric tonnes (MT) of fruits and 162.89 million MT of vegetables. The country at present ranks second in the production of fruits and vegetables in the world after China.
The report highlights a number of regulatory issues related to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and consumer protection regulations, which if rectified, could support an efficient supply chain and help to increase the consumption.
The trend in consumption pattern, however, varies from region to region with people living in south Indian cities consuming more fruits and vegetables as compared to those in the north .
These findings are part of the India's Phytonutrient Report, brought out on Thursday by the Delhi-based think-tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Rela tions (ICRIER). It is based on a survey done across five cities -National Capital Region (Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida), Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata covering 1,001 individuals drawn from upper and middle income groups.
Chennai tops the list with the highest number of servings of fruits and vegetab les, while Kolkata is at the bottom of the list. “The grea ter number of vegetarians and relatively higher income can partly explain the high levels of intake of fruits and vegetables in Chennai and Hyderabad“, says the report.
WHO recommends a daily intake of at least 400 grams (or five daily servings with an average size of 80 grams) of fruits and vegetables, excluding potatoes, cassava and other starchy tubers to “prevent diet-rela ted chronic diseases and micro-nutrient deficiencies“.The report notes that the Indians consume quite less than WHO norms.
The country has, howe ver, been producing fairly good quantity of fruits and vegetables. India had during 2013-14 produced 88.98 million metric tonnes (MT) of fruits and 162.89 million MT of vegetables. The country at present ranks second in the production of fruits and vegetables in the world after China.
The report highlights a number of regulatory issues related to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and consumer protection regulations, which if rectified, could support an efficient supply chain and help to increase the consumption.
Source: Times of India, 5-02-2016
