Supply Chain Analysis for the Philippine Abalone

Philippine abalone (Haliotis asinina) is the most abundant abalone species in the Philippines and is collected from the wild by either gleaning or diving. Abalone has a strong export potential especially to countries in East Asia. The country’s highest volume of export was in 2004 with more than 600,000 kg valued at USD 3 million but the volume has continuously dropped. In 2012, the volume of abalone exports is only 300,000 kg valued at USD 1.5 million. This study examined the Philippine abalone industry using the supply chain analysis framework. This is a pioneering and exploratory research on the industry that surveyed 153 collectors from four major production areas in Iloilo, Palawan, Tawi-tawi, and Eastern Visayas; 41 traders; 29 trader-processors; and 7 exporters. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were also employed. Results revealed that the abalone industry is solely dependent on supply from the wild and its sustainability is at risk given increased fishing activity due to increased demand in the world market, unregulated collection of brood stock and small-sized abalone, destructive collection practices, occurrence of natural calamities, and absence of policies on the management of abalone fisheries. Other findings are weak chain transparency and coordinative mechanisms, absence of common standards for classification and product processing, insufficiency of capital, and logistical issues. Policy recommendations are put forward to protect and increase the existing abalone stock from the wild alongside the development of abalone aquaculture

Exploring Factors that Influence Consumption of Frozen Fish Products: The Case of Consumers in Iloilo City, Philippines

Due to the lack of existing knowledge about frozen fish consumption in Iloilo City, Philippines, a research was conducted to explore the factors that influence consumption of frozen fish products using the extended theory of planned behavior as research framework. With the use of structured questionnaire, data was collected from 271 randomly selected respondents in the study area. Descriptive statistics, tests of reliability, and test of differences were used to analyze data while multiple regression analysis was used to prove the validity of the research framework. Results indicate that intention to consume frozen fish products are determined by consumer attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control, and knowledge about product quality. These factors explain 75.1% of the variability in the consumer’s intention. Consumer attitude is significantly influenced by beliefs about the appearance and nutritional value of frozen fish products. On the other hand, consumer perceived behavioral control is significantly influenced by beliefs about suitability of frozen fish products in the preparation of delicious meals. Among the top identified influencers (parents, siblings, friends, and relatives), only the siblings have statistically significant influence on the subjective norms of the respondents. Intention and its determinant factors explain 46% variability in the consumer’s behavior. This study proves that behavioral intention of consumers significantly affects their actual consumption behavior of frozen fish products. The results presented in this study may guide the formulation of business strategies designed to influence consumption and purchase behavior of Ilonggos

Buying Intention and Consumption of Chicken Meat: The Case of Consumers in Iloilo City, Central Philippines

Despite studies showing that chicken meat has more health benefits compared to pork, the literature reveals that pork consumption is much higher than chicken meat. This study was conducted to identify factors affecting households’ buying intention and consumption of chicken meat using Icek Azjen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB). The actual consumption was the main dependent variable while buying intention, attitude, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were the independent variables. Primary data was collected by interviewing 270 randomly selected household heads using a structured questionnaire in seven districts of Iloilo City, Central Philippines. Descriptive statistics was used to describe respondents’ consumption of fresh chicken meat while Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, and t-test were used to determine differences in attitude, SN, and PBC across demographic variables. Linear and multiple regression analyses were used to predict the effect of independent variables to buying intention and actual behavior. Significant findings include the following: buying intention was a reliable predictor for actual consumption of chicken meat; only attitude and PBC significantly influenced buying intention; there were no significant differences in attitude across age, sex, educational attainment, employment status, family size, religion, and household income; PBC significantly differed across age groups; key product attributes that respondents considered important were smell, color, price, government certification, and convenience of preparation; and the top 3 control factors that affect perceived behavioral control were accessibility, ease of cooking, and flexibility in preparation of variety of dishes. The results would be useful to marketers in devising marketing strategies designed to increase consumption of chicken meat

Awareness, Attitude, and Behavior toward Genetically Modified Crops: The Case of Consumers in Iloilo City, Central Philippines

The Philippines was one of the first Asian countries to endorse commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops such as corn, soybean, etc. To date, there has been great controversy over GM’s alleged negative impacts on human health and the environment. Using Icek Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, this study aimed to determine the influence of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on the buying intention and consumption of GM crops of consumers. Level of awareness about GM crops was also measured. With the use of a structured questionnaire, primary data was collected from 246 randomly selected individuals in the seven districts of Iloilo City, Central Philippines. Descriptive statistics was used to describe consumers’ level of awareness and consumption of GM crops, and logistic regression was utilized to determine the influence of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control with the intention and actual behavior of the consumer. Results indicated that 80% of the respondents had very low level of awareness about the consequences of consuming GM crops and the processes involved in growing the crops. Level of awareness did not vary across age, sex, income, and educational attainment. Logistic regression revealed that buying intention was statistically significant in predicting actual consumption. Among the three independent variables, only attitude significantly influenced buying intention. Policy implications of the results include instituting mandatory labeling of GM crops and information dissemination about the agricultural processes and effects of consuming GM crops

An Exploratory Study on Consumer Buying Intention for Organic Farm Produce: The Case of Iloilo, Philippines

The increased attention given to “green” products due to consumers’ growing concern for health and environmental issues have driven marketers to identify factors that influence consumer buying behavior. Using Ajzen and Fishbein’s theory of reasoned action, this pioneering study aims to explore the influence of attitude and subjective norms on Ilonggo consumers buying intention for organic farm produce. Data were collected using structured questionnaire from 200 randomly selected respondents aging 18 years old and above and residing in Iloilo City, Philippines. Logistic regression analysis shows that attitude has a positive effect while subjective norms has a negative effect on the buying intention for organic farm produce. With both factors having significant influences, attitude and subjective norms explains 57% of the variability in the intention to buy organic farm produce. Test of differences indicate that consumer attitudes towards organic farm produce vary across age and sex. Older consumers have more positive attitude than younger ones, while females are more positive than males. However, there are no significant differences in the consumer attitude based on household income and educational attainment. In terms of subjective norms (i.e., the influence of other people), results show that there are no significant differences based on household income. Significant differences, however, are observed when respondents were classified according to age, sex, and level of education. Younger respondents have higher subjective norm scores than older ones; males had higher scores than females; and those who attained at least college had higher scores than those with at most a high school education. The findings of the study would be valuable inputs to the formulation of demand stimulation strategies for organic farm produce