Italian Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Eucalyptus Firewood

Abstract

Eucalyptus trees cover about 20 million hectares globally and are used to produce pulp, paper and firewood for domestic uses. From an environmental perspective, these trees have fewer impacts than other crops. In Italy, plantations of eucalyptus can provide a large amount of biomass to satisfy part of the country’s internal demand. However, eucalyptus cultivation is less profitable than cultivation of traditional crops due to the low market prices of wood. This study aims both to analyze the willingness of a sample of Italian consumers to pay for eucalyptus firewood and to investigate the main factors that may affect this willingness. Data are collected from a sample of 231 consumers using a web-based survey. The double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model is then applied. The findings show that information, the energetic density of firewood, consumers’ interest in environment issues, and the age of respondents are aspects that are positively associated with respondents’ willingness to pay for eucalyptus firewood. Conversely, interest in both firewood species and packaging are factors that reduce consumer willingness to pay for eucalyptus firewood. Even though these results cannot be generalized to the whole Italian population, the findings may indicate new opportunities for eucalyptus, while growing demand for eucalyptus could offer an interesting opportunity for firms to enter the sector and develop marketing strategies targeted towards specific market niches.

Society’s Willingness to Pay for Certified Dry Firewood Energy in Chile

“…As indicated by Palmieri et al (2020), literature that evaluates the willingness to pay for firewood is scarce, making it difficult to evaluate the results. In the Italian case, WTP values for eucalyptus firewood have been found to range between 6 EUR (7.3 USD) and 11 EUR (13.8 USD) per quintal, equivalent to 33.1 USD per cubic meter of firewood (Palmieri et al, 2020). While in our case, the average price that Chilean consumers paid 46.4 USD on average for firewood.…”

“…As indicated by Vasquez (2020), it is necessary to study consumer preferences regarding certified dry firewood, which are manifested in their willingness to pay for this type of energy, a subject on which literature is scarce (Vásquez et al, 2020). Palmieri et al (2020) mentioned that more research is required on consumers' willingness to pay a higher price for certified firewood. This is worrisome from environmental and health perspectives, because despite the regulations and information provided by the authority, people continue to use damp firewood to heat their homes due to its lower price compared to alternative heating sources, and this generates more air pollution (Jaime et al, 2020).…”

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

“…The research was carried out using electronic questionnaires, as it was easier to distribute and collect during the semi-lockdown period. The distribution method chosen was by e-mail, as was similarly performed in papers investigating consumer behaviors [44][45][46]. A snowball method was used in order to obtain a large number of participants [47].…”

Opuntia ficus-indica as an Ingredient in New Functional Pasta: Consumer Preferences in Italy

“…The study data were collected using a web-based survey administered during the period of September-December in 2020. The survey was delivered through social media and e-mail as similarly performed in papers investigating consumer behaviors (e.g., [33][34][35][36][37][38]). Moreover, a snowball sampling recruitment method was also adopted in order to obtain a large number of participants [39].…”