Assessing Consumer Preferences and Demand for Fish: A Market Analysis of the Midwest Aquaculture Industry. Final Report

摘要

Consumers are increasingly aware of the quality and safety of the aquaculture products they consume. As dynamic demand from consumers requires changes in the production and marketing of aquaculture products, suppliers are faced with decisions regarding the adoption or discontinuation of various practices regarding the production and marketing of their aquaculture products. Midwest aquaculture producers and retailers face difficult supply management and food safety decisions partially due to significant uncertainty regarding American consumers WTP for various food product informational attributes. The objectives of this project were to (1) Identify consumer preferences and demand for fish products. (2) Estimate consumers willingness-to-pay (WTP) for important food safety and quality informational attributes embedded in aquaculture products. (3) Assess the competitiveness of aquaculture products with regards to food safety versus imported aquaculture products.