WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE HOUSEHOLDS’ EXPENDITURE ON FISH? EVIDENCE FROM URBAN MALAWI

Authors

  • Fredrick Mangwaya Banda Ph.D. Student, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5937-1162
  • Abdi-Khalil Edriss Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), P. O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1795-1983
  • Wilson Wesley Lazaro Jere Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Science, Africa Centre of Excellence in Aquaculture and Fisheries (AquaFish ACE), P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9353-8907
  • Horace Phiri Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-3775

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2302507M

Keywords:

capture fishery, per capita food expenditure, per capita fish expenditure, ordinary least squares regression, Tobit regression model

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find the drivers of fish expenditure in urban Malawi using Blantyre as a case study. Previous demand studies on the fisheries sector in Malawi have concentrated on the determinants of consumer choices and demand for tilapia fish thereby making information regarding households’ general consumption pattern of fish scanty. Results show that statistically significant negative determinants of per capita fish expenditure include the price of vegetables, the price of rice, the number of adults in the household, and the household’s per capita food expenditure away from home, while, the price index of food, price of maize, the predicted value of food, and household’s income level are the statistically significant positive drivers of per capita fish expenditure. General policy implications arising from this study are that policymakers need to ensure that households have higher incomes and that food prices are kept low.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Fredrick Mangwaya Banda, Ph.D. Student, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi

 

 

Abdi-Khalil Edriss, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), P. O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi

 

 

Wilson Wesley Lazaro Jere, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Science, Africa Centre of Excellence in Aquaculture and Fisheries (AquaFish ACE), P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi

 

 

Horace Phiri, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi

 

 

References

Brummett, R.E. (2000), Factors influencing fish prices in Southern Malawi. Aquaculture, 186 (3–4), 243–251.

Cavaliere, A., De Marchi, E., Donzelli, F., & Banterle, A. (2019), Is the Mediterranean diet for all? An analysis of socioeconomic inequalities and food consumption in Italy. British Food Journal. doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2018-0373.

Chikowi, C.T., Ochieng, D.O. & Jumbe, C. B. (2020), Consumer choices and demand for tilapia in urban Malawi: What are the complementarities and tradeoffs? Aquaculture, 530 (20).

Dey, M. M. (2000), Analysis of demand for fish in Bangladesh. Aquaculture Economics and Management, 4(1/2), 63-81.

Dey, M. M., Garcia, T. Y., Kumar, P., Piumsombun, S., Haque, S. M., Li, L., Radam, A., Senaratne, A., Khiem, N.T. & Koeshendrajana, S. (2008), Demand for fish in Asia: A cross country analysis. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 52, 321–338.

Gujarati, D. (2004), Basic Econometrics. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Lancaster, K. J. (1966), A new approach to consumer theory. Journal of Political Economy, 74(2), 132-157.

Malawi Government (2016), National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy. Available at:http://www.unpei.org/malawi-government-national-fisheries-andaquaculturepolicy-.

Malawi Government (2021), Annual economic report 2021, Ministry of Economic Planning, Development and Public Sector Reforms, Department of Economic Planning and Development, Lilongwe.

Murray, G., Wolff, K., & Patterson, M. (2017), Why eat fish? Factors influencing seafood consumer choices in British Columbia, Canada. Ocean & Coastal Management, 144,16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.04.007.

Nankwenya. B., Kaunda, E. & Chimatiro, S. 2017), The demand for fish products in Malawi: An almost ideal demand system estimation. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 8 (16), 63–71.

Thong, N. T., & Solgaard, H. S. (2017), Consumer’s food motives and seafood consumption. Food Quality and Preference. 56, 181–188. doi.org/10.1016/j. foodqual.2016.10.008.

Phiri, L.Y., Dzanja, J., Kakota, T. & Hara, M. (2013), Value chain analysis of Lake Malawi: A case study of oreochromis spp (chambo). International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(2).

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. & Griffin, M. (2010), Business Research Methods. 8th edition. Canada: South Western Cengage Learning.

Downloads

Published

2023-06-19

How to Cite

Banda, F. M. ., Edriss, A.-K. ., Jere, W. W. L. ., & Phiri, H. (2023). WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE HOUSEHOLDS’ EXPENDITURE ON FISH? EVIDENCE FROM URBAN MALAWI . Ekonomika Poljoprivrede, 70(2), 507–520. https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2302507M

Issue

Section

Original scientific papers