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U.S. Demand for Organic and Conventional Fresh Fruits: The Roles of Income and Price

Author

Listed:
  • Biing-Hwan Lin

    (Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036-5831, USA)

  • Steven T. Yen

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, The University of Tennessee, 2621 Morgan Circle, Knoxville, TN, 37996-4518, USA)

  • Chung L. Huang

    (Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 313-E Conner Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602-7509, USA)

  • Travis A. Smith

    (Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036-5831, USA)

Abstract

Using retail purchase data reported by Nielsen’s Homescan panel this study investigates the U.S. demand for organic and conventional fresh fruits. The study fills an important research void by estimating the much needed income and price elasticities for organic and conventional fruits utilizing a censored demand approach. Household income is found to affect organic fruit consumption. Consumers are more responsive to price of organic fruits than to price of conventional fruits. Cross-price effects suggest that a change in relative prices will more likely induce consumers to “cross-over” from buying conventional fruits to buying organic fruits, while it is less likely that organic consumers will “revert” to buying conventional fruits.

Suggested Citation

  • Biing-Hwan Lin & Steven T. Yen & Chung L. Huang & Travis A. Smith, 2009. "U.S. Demand for Organic and Conventional Fresh Fruits: The Roles of Income and Price," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:1:y:2009:i:3:p:464-478:d:5548
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roitner-Schobesberger, Birgit & Darnhofer, Ika & Somsook, Suthichai & Vogl, Christian R., 2008. "Consumer perceptions of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 112-121, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yu, Yang & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2021. "The effect of sell-by dates on purchase volume and food waste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska & Katarzyna Mazur-Włodarczyk & Agata Wódkowska, 2023. "Native vs. Unique Fruit Popularity: Exploring the Sustainable Fruit Consumption in Poland—Research Report," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-23, July.
    3. Vasiliki Fourmouzi & Margarita Genius & Peter Midmore, 2012. "The Demand for Organic and Conventional Produce in London, UK: A System Approach," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 677-693, September.
    4. Kasteridis, Panagiotis & Yen, Steven, 2012. "U.S. demand for organic and conventional vegetables: a Bayesian censored system approach," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(3), pages 1-21.
    5. Iqbal Sarah & Fayaz Muhammad & Ullah Irfan & Uçak Harun & Shah Syed Attaullah & Sayam Farheen, 2023. "Examining Fruit Demand Elasticities In Pakistan," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Paradigm, vol. 23(2), pages 150-168, December.
    6. Lippert, Christian & Feuerbacher, Arndt & Narjes, Manuel, 2021. "Revisiting the economic valuation of agricultural losses due to large-scale changes in pollinator populations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    7. Erik Nelson & John Fitzgerald & Nathan Tefft, 2019. "The distributional impact of a green payment policy for organic fruit," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-25, February.
    8. Mosadegh Sedghy, B. & Nematollahi, Mohammadreza & Tajbakhsh, Alireza, 2024. "Market dynamics between retail channels and short food supply chains: A case of organic fruits," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. McFadden, Jonathan R. & Huffman, Wallace E., 2017. "Willingness-to-pay for natural, organic, and conventional foods: The effects of information and meaningful labels," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 214-232.
    10. Filippo Sgroi & Matteo Candela & Anna Maria Di Trapani & Mario Foderà & Riccardo Squatrito & Riccardo Testa & Salvatore Tudisca, 2015. "Economic and Financial Comparison between Organic and Conventional Farming in Sicilian Lemon Orchards," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Lee, Yinjin & Bateman, Alexis, 2021. "The competitiveness of fair trade and organic versus conventional coffee based on consumer panel data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    12. Schott, Lenna & Bernard, John, 2015. "Comparing Consumer's WIllingness to Pay for Conventional, Non-Certified Organic and Organic Milk from Small and Large Farms," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 46(3), pages 1-20, November.
    13. Denver, Sigrid & Christensen, Tove, 2010. "Is Organic Food A Quality Attribute Or A Product Category?," 115th Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, September 15-17, 2010, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany 116389, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Daniel E. Chavez & Marco A. Palma, 2019. "Pushing subjects beyond rationality with more alternatives in experimental auctions," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(2), pages 207-217, March.
    15. Araba, Narjiss, 2022. "Organic markets: a safe haven from volatility," 96th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2022, K U Leuven, Belgium 321209, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.

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