Consumer Preferences for Fish Attributes in Bangladesh: A Choice Experiment

Abstract Over the last decade, there has been a rapid increase in aquaculture in South and Southeast Asia, and both domestic and imported farm-raised fish are now readily available in local markets. However, few consumer studies of fish preferences have been conducted in South and Southeast Asian markets. A choice experiment was conducted at the consumer level in three cities, and the data were analyzed with a mixed logit model in willingness-to-pay space. The results showed that on average, consumers were willing to pay more for indigenous than for foreign fish species. Furthermore, they preferred domestic to imported production and fresh to frozen fish. However, Bangladeshi consumers were not willing to pay a significant premium for wild-caught fish. The lack of consumer differentiation in regard to the production method is promising for aquaculture in this region and provides hope for reducing the pressure on wild fisheries.