Factors Affecting the Consumer Preference and Consumer Buying Behavior of Fish for the Household Consumption: A case of Matara and Hambanthota Districts

Abstract

Sri Lankans have a huge appetite for fish which provide the largest share of the requirement of animal protein by consuming both marine and fresh water fish in their diet. Consumer's preference/buying behavior for fish is greatly affected by the qualitative changes of these fish. Therefore, the key objective of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the preference/buying behavior of fish for the household consumption in Matara and Hambanthota District. Primary data were selected by pre-tested questionnaire by randomly selected 180 families living in marine fishing, inland and non fishing areas. The descriptive statistics and Chi - Square test were employed to analyze the data. The results revealed the availability of fish was significantly affected to the consumer buying behavior of fish. Majority of consumers in coastal areas preferred marine fish due to high availability and absence of inherent smell while freshwater were preferred by majority of consumers in inland fishing areas. In non fishing areas, consumers are preferred marine fish due to taste and absence of inherent smell, but considerable amount of consumers preferred fresh water fish due to taste and nutritional value. It was suggested to enhance the fish consumption by reducing the price of fish, improving the income level of people and increasing the availability of fish. Further, fish consumption was not in satisfactory level, thus there is a high potential to enhance the fish consumption.