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The importance of the country of origin when purchasing beef in Chile

Abstract:

Considering the increase in beef imports to Chile, different consumer segments were determined and evaluated according to the relative importance of the origin when purchasing beef, acceptance and the willingness to pay for beef from an área other than the central-southern región of Chile. To do this, direct surveys were conducted on 400 consumers from Temuco, in the Región de La Araucanía, and 400 from Talca, in the Región del Maule. Using a conjoint analysis, it was established that the origin of beef was more important than price and packaging in the purchasing decisión. Consumers preferred domestic and Argentinean beef and rejected Brazilian beef, but were not willing to pay a considerably higher price for the preferred beef. Using a cluster analysis, three market segments were distinguished: the most numerous (50.5%) placed the greatest importance on the origin of the beef, the second largest group (32.3%) considered price slightly more important than packing and origin, whereas for the smallest group (17.3%), price was the most significant factor when purchasing beef.