Consumers’ preferences for testing algal bloom in seafood markets. A comparison study of mussel consumption in China, Vietnam, and Chile

Zihan Nie (), Yu Jiang (), César Salazar (), Marcela Jaime () and Thong Ho ()
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Zihan Nie: Beijing Normal University, China
Yu Jiang: Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China.
César Salazar: University of Bío-Bío, Chile
Marcela Jaime: University of Concepción, Chile.
Thong Ho: University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

No 25-1, EfD Discussion Paper from Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg

Abstract: Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are an increasing global threat to food safety in the seafood industry. The impact of HABs and the losses from policies addressing them are significant. However, little is known regarding the extent to which the perceived risk of HAB affects consumers' preferences for seafood products and how this translates into welfare losses from the demand side. In this paper, we conducted choice experiments in Chile, China, and Vietnam to explore consumers’ preferences for reducing the risk of HAB contamination in a mussel consumption framework. We find that consumers strongly prefer a test that eliminates the risk of purchasing mussels contaminated by the HAB on the market in all three countries. These strong preferences translate into large WTPs. Perceptions towards HAB and mussel’s attributes play a role in explaining heterogeneity in consumers’ preferences. However, the link between perceptions and preferences varies across countries, possibly due to country-specific contexts. These results imply that the increasing occurrence of HAB globally might have caused sizable welfare losses for consumers and that policies to ensure food safety in seafood markets could significantly improve social welfare.

Keywords: mussel aquaculture; harmful algal bloom; choice experiment; consumers’ preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q22 Q51 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2025-04-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-cna, nep-dcm, nep-exp and nep-sea
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