Consumer Traits’ Effect on Table Banana Quality Choice in the Philippines: A Multinomial Logistic Analysis

Abstract

Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the fruits that most consumers buy in the Philippines as part of daily diets. Its high demand is owed to the fruit’s nutritive value and affordable price. The Philippines has been growing 80 cultivars for domestic and international markets. Among these are ‘Lakatan’ and ‘Latundan.’ Production-related researches on banana have been well established, but little is known about the banana’s marketability and consumer preferences in the local market. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of consumer traits on the choice of table banana quality in the Philippines. A survey was conducted with 400 consumer-respondents: 146 came from a producing area (Davao City) and 254 were from consuming markets (Manila and Cebu City). Multinomial logistic regression was applied in carrying out the objective of the study. Results reveal that the consumer’s traits—i.e., age, marital status, education, occupation, and gender—significantly affect the likelihood of choosing banana based on particular qualities (i.e., skin color, fruit size, cluster size, fruit length, degree of ripeness, softness and surface blemish) in a producing market. The result is similar in consuming markets. However, none among the consumer traits significantly affected the likelihood of choosing banana in consideration of its fruit length. In addition, price consumer index in consuming markets affect the likelihood of choosing banana quality. Therefore, consumer traits are important consideration in consumers’ buying decision vis-à-vis fruit quality. This suggests that proper market segmentation should be studied to develop sound marketing strategies and profit opportunities.