4315.0 - Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, Preliminary, 1995-96  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/01/1997   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MEDIA RELEASE

January 17, 1997
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
4/97
Soft drinks and milk up, beer down

Preliminary estimates for 1995-96 show that Australians consumed less beer, while the demand for soft drink and milk continues to grow, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australians drank 114.3 litres each of aerated and carbonated waters in 1995-96, a rise of 3.3 per cent on the previous year. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase.

Milk consumption rose for the third successive year to 104.3 litres per person. However, the apparent consumption of tea and coffee remained steady with per capita intake of tea at 0.9 kilograms and coffee at 2.2 kilograms.

Overall, total beer consumption showed a decline for the seventh successive year with a fall of 1.6 per cent to 95.4 litres per person.

Apparent consumption of low alcohol beer rose 4.7 per cent to 22.4 litres per person in 1995-96, but other beer fell 3.4 per cent to 73.0 litres.

Butter consumption showed a marginal fall at 3.0 kilograms per person, down 3.8 per cent when compared with 1994-95. The per capita consumption of dairy blends rose 9.5 per cent to 0.8 kilograms per capita.

Consumption of table margarine declined for the fifth successive year, falling 5.8 per cent in 1995-96 to 5.0 kilograms per person. This was partially offset by an increase in the per capita consumption of other margarine which rose 13.4 per cent to 2.2 kilograms.

The consumption of cheese also continued to increase in 1995-96 with a rise of
3.2 per cent to 10.6 kilograms per person.

The trend for Australians to eat less meat continues with apparent per capita consumption of meat and meat products falling to a record low of 69.7 kilograms in 1995-96.

Major contributors to the decline were beef, down 4.8 per cent to 33.0 kilograms and pig meat, down 6.1 per cent to 18.2 kilograms per person. In percentage terms, the largest falls were mutton with a fall of 13.7 per cent, and offal and other meat which fell 29.6 per cent. The per capita intake of poultry also fell by 2.8 per cent to 27.4 kilograms.

Details are in Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 1995-96 Preliminary (cat. no. 4315.0) available in ABS bookshops.