Determinants of fishery and aquaculture products consumption at home in the EU28

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is the world's largest market for fishery and aquaculture products (FAPs) in nominal terms. Given the importance of these products, EU authorities and policy-makers are continuously monitoring consumer preferences and attitudes, analysing whether or not the implementation of EU policies and regulations improves the market conditions. For example, the Eurobarometer (European Union, 2018a) surveyed 27,732 EU residents including a specific module to analyse the fishery and aquaculture EU market. In this study, the dataset is used to estimate Ordered Probit models using effects coding and their marginal effects to identify the main determinants of the frequency of FAPs at-home consumption. Results indicate that the highest probability to consume more frequently FAPs is related to considering that one of the main reasons for buying or eating fishery and aquaculture products is because they are healthy, while the highest probability to consume less frequently FAPs is related to consumers who do not understand at all the information accompanying the products. Similarly, other important reasons for consuming FAPs more frequently are their good taste and low relative price. Also, results indicate a higher frequency of consumption of FAPs for those consumers who are over 55 years of age, are wealthy, have a wild product preference, live in a household of 3 persons or more and are very satisfied with their lives. To our best knowledge, there is not a similar approach in the current literature that considers such an extensive sample which is representative of all the countries that conform the EU28. Results provide valuable information especially for producers and authorities in terms of marketing and policy analysis.

Profiling of Croatian Consumers Based on Their Intention to Consume Farmed Fish

“…Recent results of at-home fishery and aquaculture products consumption among consumers from 28 EU countries confirmed that one of the main reasons for buying or eating fish and aquaculture products is because they are healthy, while the biggest barrier to greater consumption is a lack of understanding of the information labelled on fishery and aquaculture products [ 45 ]. Health consciousness and dietary habits of consumers are closely related to frequency of physical activity [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Global Seafood Trade: Insights in Sustainability Messaging and Claims of the Major Producing and Consuming Regions

“…It is important to take cultural perceptions into account, as consumer attitudes towards seafood safety are often conflated with perceptions of sustainability, quality, and traceability [86]. Certain European consumers seem to be willing to pay more for "fresh" seafood compared to frozen seafood [72,87,88]. Additionally, while frozen seafood is commonly sold in most marketplaces, in some countries, such as China, fresh seafood is highly preferred, ideally purchased "live" compared to other product forms (e.g., frozen or canned) [79].…”

“…In the case of consumers in the European Union, Cantillo et al [88] found that consumers who do not understand all the information provided on seafood products tend to consume less seafood. This indicates an opportunity to increase consumption by providing clearer information about the product.…”

“…Ensuring optimal appearance of the seafood at point of sale and prominent use of brands and labeling would be part of such a strategy. Certification of quality, certification, origin of the product, and associated socioenvironmental impacts would also be important [88]. Currently certification focuses on ecolabels, which could be an important driver for increased consumption in the EU, which already demands compliance on presenting product information on labeling [88].…”

“…Certification of quality, certification, origin of the product, and associated socioenvironmental impacts would also be important [88]. Currently certification focuses on ecolabels, which could be an important driver for increased consumption in the EU, which already demands compliance on presenting product information on labeling [88]. Such a strategy might also be suitable for other major markets such as the USA but is unlikely to work in Asia at this stage due to cultural differences and the fact that a high proportion of seafood is sold unpackaged.…”