After meals, Indonesians spent a significant amount of money on cigarettes in 2021.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that cigarettes remain a major consumption item for Indonesian people. The average expenditure on cigarettes and tobacco was Rp 76,583 per capita per month in March 2021.

This cigarette consumption increased by 4.3% from Rp 73,442 per capita per month in March 2020. Furthermore, cigarette expenditure was the second highest among other expenditure groups.

The highest expenditure came from the ready-to-eat food and beverage group, averaging Rp 197,682 per capita per month. However, this value decreased by 4.4% from Rp 206,736 the previous year.

After cigarettes, the next highest consumption was from cereals, with an average expenditure of Rp 69,786 per capita per month. Expenditure on this commodity increased by 4.5% from the previous period, which was Rp 66,789 per capita per month.

Next, vegetables were in fourth place with an average of Rp 53,864 per capita per month, up 18.7% from the previous year. Indonesian people also consumed fish/shrimp/squid/shellfish totaling Rp 51,514 per capita per month, up 10.6% from March 2020.

BPS explained that expenditure on vegetables, fish/shrimp/squid/shellfish, and meat increased relatively as immunity boosters amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.