Estimating willingness to pay for quality and safety attributes of pork: Some empirical evidence from northern Vietnam

This study assessed consumers' willingness to pay a premium for specific quality and safety attributes of pork and the accompanying socio-economic factors that influence this choice decision. A survey was conducted among 600 randomly selected consumers from three regions in northern Vietnam representing three levels of urbanization: Hanoi as an urban centre, Hai Duong as an average-sized secondary city and Nam Sach as a rural commune. A dichotomous choice model was estimated to examine the factors that influenced the likelihood of willingness to pay a premium for selected quality and safety attributes that were identified as important by Vietnamese consumers in previous studies and through stakeholder consultations. The results provide empirical support to validate some stylized facts about consumer preferences for specific attributes of fresh pork and a traditional processed pork product, gio. Socio-demographic characteristics of consumers influence their preference for specific attributes and, specifically, the nature of their demand for such attributes. Household income and location were found to be strong determinants of preferences and hence should be given due consideration when designing production and marketing strategies for fresh and processed pork. Higher household income was strongly evident as a factor for increasing demand for quality attributes such as lower fat content, better hygiene and more desirable nicer colour (associated with freshness), but also for traditional attributes associated with products from niche markets such as meat from pigs reared without industrial feed or from local pigs. Higher level of education of consumers was also associated with lower likelihood of willingness to pay a premium for pork from pigs with more exotic blood. These results suggest that there is a group of consumers who demand quality attributes of hygienic, fresh and low-fat pork and these are relatively high income, well-educated consumers in Hanoi. Similarly, these consumers also preferred pork with local flavour/taste (e.g. from local pigs and pigs reared without industrial feed) that may be met by producing pork from crossbreeds with high local blood content and reared on traditional feeds such as grasses and local or mixed feeds as opposed to industrially processed feed. These findings can be used to guide strategies for designing production and marketing options that can be piloted by a small group of collaborating households. Given the differential preference behaviour for different pork attributes by different types of consumers, there is need to identify target consumers for better targeting of interventions that can be prescribed on the ground. Efforts to ensure credibility and reputation for delivering products with these stated attributes will also need to be given attention.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Lucila A Lapar, Ma, Nguyen Ngoc Luan, A Jabbar, Mohammad, Figuié, Muriel, Hoang Vu Quang, Moustier, Paule, Vu Trong Binh, Staal, S.J.
Format:	book_section biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	ILRI
Subjects:	E73 - Économie de la consommation, Q04 - Composition des produits alimentaires, E70 - Commerce, commercialisation et distribution, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8227,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/580768/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/580768/7/ID580768.pdf
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