A study of catfish demand by restaurants and supermarkets in the U.S.

摘要

Supermarkets and restaurants play a significant role in marketing various types of aquaculture products. Managers use their knowledge of the local market to select seafood products desired by consumers. In order to expand catfish sales and consumption to nontraditional catfish areas, it is important to understand the preferences of seafood buyers in the away-from-home food sector and in supermarkets. The study utilized primary data obtained from a national mail survey of supermarkets and restaurants. All the supermarkets and restaurants that handle seafood in the nation, listed in the Chain Store Guider (c) 2003, were selected for this survey. The list included 568 chain supermarkets, 1,215 single unit supermarkets, 548 chain restaurant and 439 single unit restaurants. Various types of analysis were conducted with the data and information obtained. These included: Descriptive analysis, Logit model analysis, and Nested logic model analysis. Basic statistical analysis was done using Survey Pro. The Logit and Nested logit models were estimated using LIMDEP.;Twenty six percent (26%) of restaurant managers that currently sell catfish reported quality problems with catfish products. The majority of restaurants indicated summer and spring as peak demand seasons for seafood. Freshness and quality of product were the two important concerns indicated by respondents that sold catfish. Econometric analysis shows that chain restaurants and those restaurants whose customers prefer farm-raised fish are more likely to serve catfish. If the restaurant is serving same amount of catfish compared to last year then it will be more likely that it will be a high volume catfish seller.;For supermarkets, 88% of managers reported selling catfish. The region that showed the highest percentage of catfish sales was the South (98%), followed by the Midwest (89%), the West (85%), and the Northeast (73%). Distributors were the major suppliers in all the four regions. On catfish product form sold, 66% of supermarkets sold catfish fresh on ice, 54% sold catfish frozen, 10% sold it as a value-added product, 7% sold catfish packaged and 1% sold cooked catfish products. Econometric analysis showed that chain supermarkets, located in the city and whose customers prefer farm-raised fish were more likely to sell catfish. Supermarkets whose suppliers were distributors/wholesalers were more likely to be high volume catfish sellers.;A total of 98 completed surveys were obtained from restaurants (11% response rate) and 197 completed surveys were obtained from supermarkets (11% response rate). Catfish ranks amongst the top five selling seafood sold in the US by both restaurants and supermarkets.