AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS IN EGYPT

The pattern of food consumption is of the most important indicators of the consumption of different food commodities, and is an indicator of the relative distribution of consumption expenditure on different food commodities . So the study of consumption expenditure and its distribution are an important indicator to identify the pattern of income distribution and the level of consumption expenditure on different commodities, so as to identify the shifts in the spending behavior of different commodities needed by the family and consume; and useful in determining the relative importance of goods in both urban and rural Egypt. The main objective of this study was to identify the consumption expenditure patterns by estimating the expenditure elasticities of food groups in urban, rural and Egypt, and estimating the minimum expenditure on food groups in urban, rural and Egypt. The most important results were as follows: The average annual consumption expenditure for the family in urban Egypt in 2017 was about 71.956 thousand pounds, with a daily expenditure per capita of about 52 pounds, representing expenditure on food and drink for the family of which about 30.2%, especially meat, dairy, cheese and eggs. The average annual household consumption expenditure for the rural Egypt in 2017 was about 62.296 thousands pounds, with a daily expenditure per capita of about 37 pounds, which represents expenditure on food and drink for the family, of which about 35.6%, for meat and vegetables. The average annual household consumption expenditure for the Egypt in 2017 was about 76.194 thousands pounds, with a daily expenditure per capita of about 50 pounds, representing expenditure on food and drink for the family, of which about 29.1%, for meat, dairy, cheese and eggs. Taking into account the devaluation of the purchasing power of the Egyptian pound (as a result of the devaluation of the pound against the dollar by about 45% in November 2016), it showed a slight improvement in urban consumer expenditure and its decline in the rural consumer. Expenditure elasticity of fish, food products not classified under other items, non-alcoholic beverages amounted to about 0.27, 0.34 and 0.22, respectively, indicating that they are necessary commodities. The rest of the expenditure on food and drink in urban areas was almost necessary in 2017. The minimum expenditure for various food commodities in urban areas was about 7021.2 and 12857.6 pounds / year for 2015 and 2017, respectively. Expenditure elasticities of fish, fruit and food products not classified under other items amounted to about 0.45, 0.15 and 0.45, respectively, indicating that they are necessary commodities.The rest of the expenditure on food and drink in the rural areas was almost necessary in 2017. The minimum expenditure for various food commodities in the rural areas was about 7,603,2 and 13,654.7 pounds / year for 2015 and 2017, respectively. Expenditure elasticities of fish and food products not classified under other items amounted to 0.36 and 0.37 respectively, indicating that they are essential goods.The remaining items of expenditure on food and drink of the Egypt was almost necessary in 2017. The minimum expenditure for various food commodities in Egypt was about 7,809.6 and 15,211.1 LE / year for 2015 and 2017, respectively.