Consumer attitudes and willingness to pay for attributes of food, in particular from New Zealand

Abstract

For New Zealand, assessing consumer attitudes in global food markets, is important to maximizing the value of exports. This study aims to assess consumer attitudes and preferences towards a number of food attributes and origins. These attributes include factors such as quality and safety but also animal welfare, environmental quality and recyclability and the willingness to pay (WTP) for these. The overall impact of the WTP for these attributes was calculated using the Lincoln Trade and Environment model (LTEM). The study focuses on the United Kingdom (UK), China and India. Method: Surveys of consumers stratified by social class or income. The LTEM was used to calculate the impact on NZ from the various WTP’s. Results: This study found that consumers valued the attributes positively. In many cases India and China valued attributes more than in the UK especially for environmental quality, animal welfare and recyclable attributes. The LTEM showed the impact on NZ producer returns was significant.