Changing urban consumer behaviour and the role of different retail outlets in the food industry of Fiji

Craig Johns, Pamela Lyon, Randy Stringer and Wendy Umberger
Additional contact information
Pamela Lyon: PhD, Adjunct Professor, Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 2017, vol. 24, issue 1, 117-145

Abstract: The food industry is undergoing transformation globally. The set of circumstances specific to Fiji provides important insights into the drivers of this change, which have implications for private, government and donor agency stakeholders. A novel study of 1,000 urban households in Fiji found that among those surveyed, modern supermarkets have overtaken traditional markets as the dominant food retail outlet and now have 100 per cent patronage and take in 54 per cent of total household food expenditures. However, the battle for the fresh fruit and vegetable category appears to be in its infancy, with 97 per cent of households still shopping for products in this category at the traditional main market. Although foreign investment is a key driver of the retail food sector transformation in more rapidly growing developing countries, in Fiji, where foreign investment is relatively low, this transformation appears to be predominantly supported by rising urban income and changing consumer preferences. Consequently, policy attention should be directed towards market channels that can take advantage of changing consumer preferences, while still supporting local farmers.

Keywords: Consumer behaviour; food value chains; supermarket; small island developing States (SIDS); Fiji (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E21 O19 R22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/chap%205_1.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unt:jnapdj:v:24:y:2017:i:1:p:117-145

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Asia-Pacific Development Journal from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division, ESCAP ().