Analyzing Consumer Preferences for Credence Attributes of Fish and Fishery Products in Davao City, Philippines

Fish remains among the essential diet components in a typical Filipino household. As fish consumption rises, the manner of how it is caught is in question as it affects the quality of the fish. This study aims to analyze the importance of the two credence attributes of environmental sustainability and food safety in fish and fishery products in Davao City, Philippines. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze consumer preference by estimating the consumer’s utility function. From the preference model, the relative importance of the considered attributes in descending order are food safety certification, sustainability practice information, and the extent of good animal welfare for target and non-target species. Three major segments of seafood consumers (N = 300) were clustered in terms of policy preferences. These are consumers who preferred policies on food safety certification and traceability system (77%), consumers who preferred policies regarding food safety certification and environmental sustainability certification (16%), and consumers who highly preferred only food safety certification (7%). Using multinomial logistic regression, the factors affecting preferences were found to be average price per kilogram for capture fishery products, barangay (i.e., village) classification, household size, retail outlet choice, sex, frequency of buying, beliefs and practices regarding environmental sustainability and environmental concerns, age, years of education, and frequency of buying fish. The study showed the potential of environmental sustainability and food safety attributes in influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers.