Gendered impact of COVID-19 on consumption of perishable and nonperishable food commodities in Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose

Covid-19 is a serious threat to the dietary quality of vulnerable communities in developing countries with limited economic resources. This study explored the implications of COVID-19 on daily dietary behavior and food consumption patterns of perishable and nonperishable food commodities based on the gender of household headship in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was collected through an online survey using the snowball sampling technique. A mixed design ANOVA, an independent t-test and a multivariate probit model were used to look at the data from 417 female-headed households and 1,131 male-headed households that were surveyed in the study.

Findings

Female-headed households experienced a greater decrease in their daily intake of perishable and nonperishable food commodities compared to male-headed households during COVID-19. The decrease in consumption of perishable food commodities was greater than the decrease in nonperishable food commodities for both female-headed and male-headed households. Female-headed households witnessed the largest decrease in daily intake of animal-derived foods, while male-headed households observed the highest diminution in consumption of fruits. Female-headed households and male-headed households reduced their consumption of perishable food commodities by more than one-third and one-fifth, respectively. Households with lower socioeconomic status reported higher reductions in their daily intakes of food commodities compared to households with higher socioeconomic status.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional nature of the collected data does not allow the development of a causal relationship between COVID-19 implications and food consumption changes in daily dietary patterns.

Originality/value

Dietary and consumption patterns of populations are changing worldwide due to COVID-19. There is no study to assist policymakers in determining how COVID-19 is affecting the daily food consumption patterns of perishable and non-perishable food commodities of households based on gender in the developing world.

Citation

Shahbaz, P., Haq, S.u., Boz, I., Aziz, B. and Hafeez, A. (2023), "Gendered impact of COVID-19 on consumption of perishable and nonperishable food commodities in Pakistan", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 731-747. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-02-2022-0041