4306.0 - Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs, Australia , 1994-95 and 1995-96  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/04/1998   
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  • Australians drinking more light beer and soft drinks; vegetables up too (Media Release)

MEDIA RELEASE

April 08, 1998
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
39/1998

Australians drinking more light beer and soft drinks; vegetables up too

While Australians are drinking more light beer and less full strength beer, overall beer consumption is down, according to final consumption figures for 1995-96 released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australians drank 22.4 litres each of low alcohol beer in 1995-96, a rise of 4.6 per cent on the previous year. Consumption of full strength beer declined by 3.4 per cent to 72.9 litres per person. Overall, total beer consumption showed a decline for the seventh successive year with a fall of 1.6 per cent to 95.3 litres per person. Light beer comprised one quarter of all beer consumed in 1995-96.

(Preliminary estimates for 1996-97, which were released in November last year, show this trend has continued with intake of light beer up a further 6.7 per cent to 23.9 litres per capita and full strength beer consumption falling 2.9 per cent to 70.8 litres per capita.)

Soft drinks continued to gain popularity with 114.6 litres consumed per person in 1995-96, up 3.6 per cent. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase.

Australians consumed more vegetables with apparent consumption at 162.8 kilograms per person (up 10.8 per cent), the highest level since the series began in the 1930's. Potatoes remained the most popular vegetable and accounted for 70.1 kilograms per person, increasing 13.9 per cent.

Meat intake fell in 1995-96 with apparent per capita consumption of meat and meat products down 3.3 per cent to 73.2 kilograms. Beef remained the most popular meat consumed and was the only meat product to show an increase at 35.4 kilograms per person (up 2.0 per cent). The consumption of poultry rose, by 3.9 per cent to 28.3 kilograms per person.

Other notable movements in per capita consumption:

    • Seafood rose 6.0 per cent to 10.2 kilograms per person;
    • Butter was down 8.0 per cent to 2.9 kilograms per person;
    • Sugar intake increased 5.5 per cent to 46.6 kilograms per person in 1995-96.
Details are in Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 1994-95 and 1995-96, Final (cat. no. 4306.0) available in ABS bookshops in all capital cities.