Analysis of Urban Households' Demand for Sweeteners in Ogun State, Nigeria

Sweeteners, jointly demanded with food and beverages, have been proven to be good sources of energy, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. This study examined urban households’ demand for sweeteners in Ogun State, Nigeria. Primary data were obtained using a pre-tested questionnaire in a cross sectional survey of 160 households through a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LA-AIDS) model. Results revealed that 51.2% of the households were headed by females with an average age of 37 years and an average household size of five persons. Majority (62.3%) of the household heads had tertiary education. The average monthly household demand for honey, sugar and other sweeteners were 1.31liters, 1.06kg and 0.30kg respectively. About forty-one percent of the household heads had salaried occupation and 6.3% were unemployed. The mean monthly household income was N93,347.90 with the average monthly food expenditure as N12,289.98 of which N1,445.70 was expended on honey and N392.35 on sugar. Own-price and income had an increasing effect on demand for honey (p<0.01) while own-price had an increasing effect on demand for sugar (p<0.01). The age of household head had incremental influence on honey demand (p<0.01) while it had a decreasing influence on sugar demand (p<0.05). Also, marital status had incremental influence on honey demand (p<0.10) while it had a decreasing influence on sugar demand (p<0.05). The study concluded that the demand level for honey was higher than sugar and other sweeteners in all of the households. The study recommended that increased household income should be enhanced to boost household demand for honey