A Study on the Price and Preference for Imported Fruits by Country-of-Origin

Abstract

Apples and pears are receiving relatively high attention compared to other agricultural products regarding whether or not to allow imports. As agricultural market liberalization measures such as the RCEP and the CPTPP progress, the possibility of lifting SPS measures is also increasing, along with the need for corresponding research. As part of a proactive response to the lifting of SPS measures, this study intended to analyze the potential demand for apples and pears, which are items subject to import bans.
 In this paper, it is estimated the potential prices that may occur when the SPS measures are lifted, focusing on major countries that could be import sources for apples and pears, and identified the preference for imported fruits by country of origin. As a result of the analysis, it is expected that prices of imported apples are 23.6% to 54.8% lower than for domestic apples. In the case of imported pears, the prices are expected to be 25.2% to 65.2% lower than for domestic pears. The estimated prices of the fruits were different according to their country of origin, and the ranges of price increase and decrease were different depending on the item. The analysis results imply that the preference for Asian fruits was relatively low, consumers preferred imported apples more than imported pears.