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Received: 6 February 2013
Received in revised form: 20 May 2013
Accepted: 26May 2013
Keywords
Attribute
Conjoint analysis
Eggs
Utility
Willingness to pay
Abstract
As Malaysian economies grow, Malaysian per capita income is likely to increase. From economics point of view, it is expected that better-off consumers will move to better quality of food attributes such as freshness, food safety, quality and healthfulness in their food intake. This study aimed to investigate the demand for eggs attributes by Malaysian consumers. The study considers the conjoint analysis technique as a method for acquiring insights into preferences for eggs product. The technique was applied to establish the trade-offs that Malaysian consumers make between size, colour, size of packaging, functional attribute and price in the purchasing of eggs for 202 respondents. Least squares regression was utilized to estimate the relative importance of attributes for eggs. The results revealed that the ideal characteristic of egg was one with large size (grade A), omega eggs, brow n, and ten per packs. We also found that consumers were also willing to pay more for their preferred attributes. The results found in the study provide valuable inputs to producers or marketers to improve their marketing efforts as well as market positioning, in line with the demanded eggs attributes.
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Introduction
The food sector has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the Malaysian economy. The past decade has seen rapid structural transformation and urbanization in Malaysia, in the search for better economic and social opportunities. As a result, the demand for food has increased. Nationwide, in terms of proportion of food consumed by Malaysian consumers, the demand for wheat, vegetables, fruits, eggs, seafood products and meat has increased considerably while the importance of rice as a staple food has steadily decreased. The changes that have taken place in food consumption patterns in Malaysia over the last two decades are well documented in the literature. For instance, the role of meat products such as red meat, pork, poultry meat, eggs as well as milk in supplying protein to Malaysian consumers has increased in importance, as shown in Table 1.
In general, changes in the food consumption patterns are primarily as a...