The Spread of Rice Consumption of Urban Residents in the Wheat Consuming Provinces　of China : Based on Consumer Questionnaires in Shijiazhuan City

In China, the per capita rice consumption of rural residents in provinces where the staple food is rice has been decreasing since 1991. In contrast, in provinces where the staple food is wheat the per capita rice consumption has increased. It is assumed that in provinces where the staple food is wheat, the rural residents’ tendency to increase the rice consumption is fairly preceded by the urban residents. To investigate this phenomenon, consumer questionnaires were administered to residents in the city of Shijiazhuan. The result revealed that the weekly consumption of rice was more than that of wheat. In this context, the urban residents come from the wheat consuming provinces and have tasted rice only in recent years, yet rice has already become the staple food for a majority of urban residents. Therefore, the rice consumption of urban residents in the provinces where wheat is the staple food is expected to increase in the future