Fruits and Vegetables in Vietnam - International Food Policy ...

ananas, and mangoes. This may be a generational difference in food preferences, where older people
prefer fruit while younger ones consume processed sweets.
Regional factors also affect fruit and vegetable demand, although they may simply be
reflecting differences in prices across regions. The base region is Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, so the
coefficients represent the differences in budget share in each region relative to the two main cities of
Vietnam. In general, the share of the budget allocated to fruits and vegetables is less in towns and in
rural areas than in the major cities, even after controlling for differences in per capita income and
household composition. Several exceptions are worth noting. Demand for kohlrabi is actually higher
in the rural Northern Uplands and rural Red River Delta than in the major cities, other things being
equal. Similarly, cabbage demand in the Southeast is no less than in the major cities. Finally,
demand for mangoes and “other fruit” is greater in the Southeast and Mekong Delta than in the major
cities. All of these cases concern fruit and vegetable demand in the main production zone, where
prices are probably lower.
4 Changes in fruit and vegetable consumption
We can examine changes in fruit and vegetable consumption over time by comparing the
results of the 1993 Vietnam Living Standards Survey (VLSS) with the 1998 VLSS. Both surveys
use stratified random samples. The 1993 VLSS had a sample of 4800 households, while the 1998
VLSS used the earlier sample plus 1200 new households, for a total sample size of 6000 households.
The questionnaires used in the two surveys are almost identical, improving the comparability of the
results.
Table 7-22 compares the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed in 1993 and 1998 by
expenditure category. Overall, fruit and vegetable consumption has increased about 8 percent, rising
from 66 kg/person/year to 71 kg/person/year. Vegetable consumption has remained almost
unchanged, rising from 53 to 54 kg/person/year, while fruit consumption has increased from 13 to 17
kg/person/year or 31 percent. The growth in vegetable consumption is less than we would have
expected based on income growth over 1993-98 and the income elasticities estimated in the previous
section, but the growth in fruit consumption is roughly equal to what we would expect.
The results for different expenditure categories indicate that fruit and vegetable consumption
rises with income. This is true individually for fruits and for vegetables, and it is true whether we are
looking at the 1993 patterns or the 1998 pattern. For example, in 1993 fruit and vegetable
consumption rose from 31 kg/person/year among the poorest category to 126 kg/person/year. A
similar pattern arises in 1998, in which consumption rises from 26 kg among the poorest households
to 134 kg among the richest. It is somewhat worrisome that vegetable consumption has declined in
the lower-income categories. Fruit consumption, on the other hand, has increased in every income
category (see Table 7-22).
Chapter 7. Fruit and vegetable consumption in Vietnam Page 7-8