Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-8-2024

Abstract

This study centers on analyzing Mexican consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for imported US fresh apples subjected to irradiation, contrasting it with the more prevalent postharvest chemical treatments. We collect data using a survey tool in Qualtrics designed to explore the impact of information dissemination through two distinct narrative styles: scientific and layman. The study uses a between-subjects approach and apply the propensity score matching to address potential confounding factors across respondents' samples. We apply the generalized multinomial logit models in WTP space, taking into consideration respondent's certainty when answering to the choice experiment questions. Our findings reveal that respondents are willing to pay less for apples treated with irradiation compared to untreated ones but more than apples treated with chemicals. The WTP for irradiation increases when respondents receive information about this technology from both the scientific and layperson narrative styles. Similar to findings in previous studies, WTP for irradiated food is affected by gender, age, income, family size, and level of education. This study contributes to the literature by identifying the key factors that strongly influence consumers' decisions to opt for irradiation-treated fresh fruits. These influential factors encompass information provision, social and demographic aspects, as well as the presence of country-of-origin labels. EconLit citations: C250, D820, Q160, Q180.

Comments

This article was originally published in Agribusiness in 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21922

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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