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

B.-H. Lin¹, S. T. Yen², C. L. Huang³ and T. A. Smith¹

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.

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Source                                                                         
Sustainability (2009) 1: 464-478


Author Locations and Affiliations
(1) Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036-5831, USA
(2) Department of Agricultural Economics, The University of Tennessee, 2621 Morgan Circle, Knoxville, TN, 37996-4518, USA
(3) Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 313-E Conner Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602-7509, USA


Posted June 2010