Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for organic and locally produced walnuts: A choice experiment approach

Consumers’ increasing concern for their health, the environment, and ethical aspects of food production has generated a growing demand for organic and local produce. Specific information on consumer preferences, at the regional and product level, is necessary for producers to make better decisions....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jaramillo-Villanueva, José Luis, Rahmani, Djamel|||0000-0002-7123-5232, Gil Roig, José María|||0000-0003-3313-9052, Carranza-Cerda, Ignacio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/425114
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/425114
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su17020565
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Consumer preferences
Walnut attributes
Organic production
Local attribute
Willingness to pay
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Indústries agroalimentàries
Descripción
Sumario:Consumers’ increasing concern for their health, the environment, and ethical aspects of food production has generated a growing demand for organic and local produce. Specific information on consumer preferences, at the regional and product level, is necessary for producers to make better decisions. To investigate consumer preferences and their willingness to pay a premium for locally produced and organic walnut systems, we used a discrete choice experiment. Data were collected using face-to-face questionnaires from a representative sample of 501 walnut consumers from the main cities of Puebla, Mexico. The results showed heterogeneous preferences for different types of walnuts, with higher marginal utility and willingness to pay a premium for locally produced and organic nuts. However, lower preference was identified for the latter, with respect to locally produced nuts. Potential buyers of nuts were people under 40 years of age, with a monthly income of more than EUR 1500, and environmental advocates. Our findings provide producers, sellers, and policy makers with useful information that can guide them in developing successful market segmentation, communication, and pricing strategies for the walnut production and marketing.