Study On Food Consumption Of China's Rural Poor

This paper studied food consumption of China's rural poor, focused on the status and features,analyzed main factors influence rural poor's food consumption. Based on the consumption theory, the paper utilized ELES model, measured food consumption elasticity using household survey data in Ningxia, pointed out problems existed on Ningxia rural poor people's food consumption and put forward policy recommendations accordingly.Food expenditure of rural poor is low, only accounts 70.6% of rural average and 27.0% of urban people. The Engle's coefficient is much high, about 55.27, while rural average is 43.08 and urban people 36.30. The grain consumption quantity of rural poor is approximately the same with rural average but far higher than urban. Meat consumption in rural poor is a little higher than rural average but the rest foods are less than rural average and urban, especially for aquatic products, milk and eggs which only equal to 29.9%,42.6%, 46.6% of rural average and 11.3%,8.5%, 21.3% of urban.The cluster analysis of the provincial averages of rural counties shows seven provinces: Anhui, Chongqing, Jiangxi, Henan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, and Jilin are the most favorable ones on food consumption, while nine provinces: Shaanxi, Hainan, Guangxi, Ningxia, Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, Qinghai and Shanxi are the worst. Food supply, income, regional disparity and natural conditions, family scale, education level and food price are the main factors influence the food consumption.In the empirical study of food consumption in Ningxia rural areas, this paper compares the disparity between poverty counties and non-poverty counties. The result shows that most people can meet their diet demand; the main source for meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and aquatic products is purchasing, and for grain is planted by self. Expenditure on eating outside is high. In the expenditure structure for poverty and non-poverty counties, food accounts the highest that is 55.6% and 50.4% separately. The marginal propensity of education consumption is the highest in poverty counties, that is, 0.289, and the marginal expenditure proportion is also the highest, accounts for 29.3%. While in non-poverty counties, marginal propensity of food consumption is the highest, that is 0.249, and the marginal expenditure proportion is 24.6%. The income elasticity of education is highest in poverty counties, which is 2.32, while other entertainment in non-poverty counties, which is 2.07. The income elasticity of food is smaller than 1 in both poverty and non-poverty counties. In food consumption, expenditure on meat is highest, 33.7% in poverty counties and 36.0% in non-poverty counties. The marginal propensity and expenditure proportion of edible oil are both highest. Aquatic products, milk, eggs, fruits in poverty counties are of high elasticity among which aquatic products reach 3.63, and milk, fruits and edible oil are rich of elasticity, although a little large than 1, in non-poverty counties. Meat expenditure elasticity is lowest in both poverty and non-poverty counties, only 0.03 and 0.01.Improve the income level will effectively increase the education and food expenditure in poverty counties. The best way to improve income is to enlarge the investment and access to investment, enforce the market construction. When food expenditure increased, aquatic products, milk, eggs and fruits consumption will increase dramatically. Measures should be taken to improve the food consumption, such as, improve the infrastructure, and increase the agriculture investment to ensure the food availability; improve the transportation, water, sanitation, medical care and education; control the family scale to reduce the poverty rate; smooth the price to guard the food consumption.