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International honey laundering and consumer willingness to pay a premium for local honey: an experimental study

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  • Chian Jones Ritten
  • Linda Thunström
  • Mariah Ehmke
  • Jenny Beiermann
  • Donald McLeod

Abstract

Fraudulent activities in the international honey market affect 10% of food, and cost the global food market $50 billion per annum. Although many developed countries have created regulations to combat food fraud, illegally imported honey, especially originating from China, still enters through transshipments and relabelling to mask its true origin. This honey laundering poses a health risk to consumers, as Chinese honey potentially contains illegal and unsafe antibiotics and high levels of herbicides and pesticides. We analyse whether information about the negative health impacts of laundered honey increases the proportion of consumers willing to pay a premium for local fraud‐free honey. Using a laboratory experiment, we find when consumers are given honey laundering information, their willingness to pay a premium for local fraud‐free honey increases by as much as 27 percentage points. Our findings suggest that by conveying honey laundering information and guaranteeing their honey is fraud‐free, producers can potentially increase revenues and reduce the prevalence of food fraud. Our results further show that consumers' preference for various honey characteristics and age also influence the probability of paying a premium for local honey.

Suggested Citation

  • Chian Jones Ritten & Linda Thunström & Mariah Ehmke & Jenny Beiermann & Donald McLeod, 2019. "International honey laundering and consumer willingness to pay a premium for local honey: an experimental study," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 63(4), pages 726-741, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajarec:v:63:y:2019:i:4:p:726-741
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8489.12325
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    Cited by:

    1. Petjon Ballco & Fatma Jaafer & Tiziana de Magistris, 2022. "Investigating the price effects of honey quality attributes in a European country: Evidence from a hedonic price approach," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(4), pages 885-904, October.
    2. Onur Sapci & Ayse Sapci, 0. "Consumer Perception of Food Expiration Labels: “Sell By” Versus “Expires On”," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 0, pages 1-17.
    3. Bishnuprasad Mohapatra, 2025. "Honey Adulteration and Corporate Irresponsibility in India: Visualizing Corporate Sustainability," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 14(1), pages 12-20, January.
    4. Onur Sapci & Ayse Sapci, 2020. "Consumer Perception of Food Expiration Labels: “Sell By” Versus “Expires On”," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 673-689, October.
    5. repec:ags:aaea22:343896 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Liam Pippinato & Simone Blanc & Teresina Mancuso & Filippo Brun, 2020. "A Sustainable Niche Market: How Does Honey Behave?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Mariah Dolsen Ehmke & Alessandro Bonanno & Kathryn Boys & Trenton G. Smith, 2019. "Food fraud: economic insights into the dark side of incentives," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 63(4), pages 685-700, October.
    8. Bir, Courtney L. & Lambert, Lixia H. & Schaefer, K. Aleks, 2024. "Mutual Recognition and Regulatory Disharmony in Organic Honey Certification," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343896, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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