CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR MEAT CONSUMPTION AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN AKURE METROPOLIS, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined consumer preference for meat consumption among households in Akure metropolis, Ondo state, Nigeria. The consumption of meat in Nigeria is comparatively low compared to other countries; this has made it increasingly difficult for an average Nigerian to consume it on the scale of international requirements due to the limitations ranging from inadequate production inputs to poor management and marketing. Also the increase in the number of people living in the urban cities and increased migration from rural to urban cities contributes to the problem of meat consumption. Therefore the study examined the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; identified the most preferred meat type; examined the reasons for consumer’s preference of meat and estimated the meat expenditure, own price and cross price elasticities of the preferred meat types in the study area. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire from one hundred and fifty (150) respondents comprising of seventy households from Akure South and eighty households from Akure North Local Government Areas of Ondo state. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model. The result showed among others that: Male respondents dominated with 52.7% and 82.3% of the respondents were in the age bracket of 20-50 years in the study area, while 39.3% of the respondents have tertiary education, 65.3% of the respondents have household size of 4-6 and 37.3 % of the respondents are civil servants. The study also revealed that Beef is the most preferred meat (32.7%) followed by Chicken (28.0%), Turkey (20.7%) while Goat is the least preferred (18%). The reasons for this preference were: Price, Income, Quality, Taste, Availability and Health Status. In conclusion, the result of the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) showed that the own price of all the products are negative, conforming to the law of demand, while Cross price elasticity revealed that the various meat types have complementary relationships. The coefficients of expenditure elasticities also revealed that meat products were necessities for households in the study area. The study recommended that the Consumers’ protection council must make sure that the prices of the available meat products are kept low by encouraging partnership between the private and public sectors in the production, distribution and marketing of meat which in turn allows the consumers to buy at relatively cheap prices. Also the Government should review the salary scale of workers, now that there is hike in fuel prices which inturn leads to increase in price of all commodities. Furthermore income of workers should be increased both in the public and private sectors as this will encourage more intake of protein with the consumption of meat. Finally, there should also be sensitization of the consumers on the importance of hygienic meat consumption and its nutritional value.