Demand for Imported-Frozen versus Domestic-Traditionally Processed Fish in Africa: Panel Data Evidence from Nigeria
February 14, 2018 - LSO Liverpool-Tasie, A Sanou, Thomas Reardon
Liverpool-Tasie, L. S. O., Sanou, A., & Reardon, T. (2018). Demand for Imported-Frozen versus Domestic-Traditionally Processed Fish in Africa: Panel Data Evidence from Nigeria(No. 1878-2018-2161).
Abstract
We present empirical results on fish demand in Nigeria by form of fish and income groups, comparing North and South Nigeria. Our study tests two hypotheses.(1) That fish demand is price and income elastic, and thus considered a luxury by consumers;(2) that the poor in general and those in rural areas in particular, tend to buy more of the traditional form (dry/smoked), while wealthier urban consumers prefer the frozen imported fish. The study is innovative through its use of panel data and its distinction between different forms of fish in Nigeria. The form in which the fish is sold is important because frozen fish is largely all imported and there is a debate about the extent and determinants of fish imports that compete with domestic fish production and capture.