Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:10:20.694Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Hispanic consumers' perceptions toward locally grown ethnic produce: A study from the east-coast US

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2010

Ramu Govindasamy*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ08901-8520, USA.
Venkata S. Puduri
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ08901-8520, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: Govindasamy@aesop.rutgers.edu

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to predict Hispanic consumer's willingness to buy ethnic produce grown on local farms. Specifically, this result analyzes and compares the effects of Hispanic consumers' socio-economic characteristics and their expressed value judgments on their willingness to buy locally grown ethnic fruits and vegetables. The survey instrument asked respondents whether they were willing to buy ethnic produce grown on local farms, and based on this, an ordered probit model was developed to predict the willingness to buy ethnic produce grown on local farms. The model has significant explanatory power with 80% overall model prediction success. According to the survey results, overall, 80% of the Hispanic respondents were willing to buy locally grown ethnic produce, 13% of them were indifferent and only 7% of them were less willing to buy. The high positive percentage indicates the intensity of consumers' interest toward willing to buy locally grown produce. The study results indicated that growing demand for Hispanic ethnic produce provides a potential opportunity for farmers in the region.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Tubene, S. 2001. Market Potential for Ethnic Produce in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Maryland Cooperative Extension, University of Maryland, College Park-Eastern Shore. p. 6.Google Scholar
2U.S. Census. 1990. United States Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
3U. S. Census. 2000. United States Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
4US Census Bureau. 2008. Projections of the Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2010 to 2050. US Population Projections. Available at web site http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/summarytables.html (accessed on June 24, 2010).Google Scholar
5Ariyawardana, A., Govindasamy, R., and Puduri, V. 2009. Consumers willingness-to-pay for organic ethnic specialty produce in the U.S.A. In International Conference on Applied Economics (ICOAE 2009), Kastoria, Greece, May 27–30, TEI of Western Macedonia Press. p. 3946.Google Scholar
6Govindasamy, R. and Puduri, V. 2009. Hispanic consumer's preferences for genetically modified ethnic produce: an econometric analysis. Journal of Food Distribution Research 40:3951.Google Scholar
7Govindasamy, R., Nemana, A., Puduri, V., and Pappas, K. 2006. Ethnic produce marketing in the mid-Atlantic states: consumer shopping patterns and willingness-to-pay analysis. Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, 4th Quarter 2006, Vol. 21, No. 4, p. 237–241 [online]. Available from Web site http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2006-4/produce/2006-4-07.htm (accessed September 4, 2010).Google Scholar
8de Mendonca, R.U., Moreira, M., Mangan, F., and Brashear, T. 2006. Production and marketing of new eggplant varieties for new markets. UMass Vegetable Notes 17(3):14.Google Scholar
9Sciarappa, W. 2001. Growing ethnic vegetables with plasticulture. Vegetable Growers News, April 35(4):3233.Google Scholar
10Sciarappa, W. 2003. Heritage crop research at Rutgers. In Proceedings of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, July 2003. p. 122.Google Scholar
11La Trobe, H. 2001. Farmers' markets: consuming local rural produce. International Journal of Consumer Studies 25(3):181192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Holmes, M.K. 2005. Entrepreneurial Farming Part of the Plan for Prosperity in Northeast Ohio. Available at Web site http://www.bitsandbytes.ca/resources/EntrepreneurialFarming_ohio.pdf (accessed June 25, 2010).Google Scholar
13Hendrickson, J. 1996. ‘Energy use in the U.S. food system: a summary of existing research and analysis. Sustainable Farming-REAP-Canada 7(4): Fall 1997. Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec.Google Scholar
14Nestle, M. 2006. What to Eat. North Point Press, New York.Google Scholar
15Canning, P., Charles, A., Huang, S., Polenske, K.R., and Waters, A. 2010. Energy Use in the U.S. Food System. USDA, Economic Research Service, ERR-94.Google Scholar
16Heller, M.C. and Keoleian, G.A. 2000. Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System. Center for Sustainable Systems Report No. CSS-0004, University of Michigan, December. Available at web site http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS00-04.pdf (accessed June 26, 2010).Google Scholar
17AMS, 2009. Farmers Market Growth 1994–2009. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, November. Available at Web site http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateS&navID=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets&leftNav=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets&page=WFMFarmersMarketGrowth&description=Farmers%20Market%20Growth&acct=frmrdirmkt. (accessed June 24, 2010).Google Scholar
18Whole Foods Market. 2007. Fresh and New. Available at Web site http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/freshnew/index.html (accessed January 7, 2008).Google Scholar
19SCDA (South Carolina Department of Agriculture). 2004. ‘Locally Grown-Freshly Familiar’ Campaign Introduced by BI-LO. May 24, 2004, Press Release. Available at Web site http://www.state.sc.us/scda/pressreleases/archives/2004pressreleases/may/pressreleases/bilo.htm (accessed January 12, 2008).Google Scholar
20Govindasamy, R., Schilling, B., Sullivan, K., Turvey, C., Brown, L., and Puduri, V. 2004. Returns to the Jersey Fresh Promotional Program: The Impacts of Promotional Expenditures on Farm Cash Receipts in New Jersey. Working Paper, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics and the Food Policy Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Available at Web site http://www.dafre.rutgers.edu/documents/ramu/jerseyfreshreturnsstudyfinal2004report.pdf (accessed September 4, 2010).Google Scholar
21NCIFSP (North Central Initiative for Small Farm Profitability). 2002. Spring. Available at Web site http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/newsletters/ncinitspring02.pdf (accessed November 25, 2009).Google Scholar
22Govindasamy, R., Pingali, A., Italia, J., and Thatch, D. 1998. Consumer Response to StateSponsored Marketing Programs: The Case of Jersey Fresh. New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station P-02137–2–98 [online]. Available from Web site http://www.dafre.rutgers.edu/documents/ramu/jf_cn.pdf (accessed September 7, 2010).Google Scholar
23Greene, W. 2002. Econometric Analysis, 5th ed.Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.Google Scholar
24Nayga, R.M. Jr, Poghosyan, A., and Nichols, J. 2004. Will consumers accept irradiated food products? International Journal of Consumer Studies 28:178185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Nayga, R.M. Jr. 1995. Determinants of US household expenditures on fruit and vegetables: a note and update. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 27:588594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26Jekanowski, M.D., Williams, D.R. II and Schiek, W.A. 2000. Consumers' willingness to purchase locally produced agricultural products: an analysis of an Indiana survey. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 29:4353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27U.S. Census Bureau. 2000. Summary File 2 (SF 2) and Summary File 4 (SF 4).Google Scholar
28Greene, W. 1997. Econometric Analysis, 3rd ed.Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.Google Scholar
29Powers, D.A. and Xie, Y. 2000. Statistical Methods for Categorical Data Analysis. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.Google Scholar