Consumer Willingness to Pay for Fair Trade Attributes of Goat Meat in Kenya

Abstract

Fair trade is an important ethical concern in food value chains. However, there is a dearth of empirical insights on consumer preferences for this critical aspect especially in the domestic markets of developing countries. The current study analyzed consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for fair trade attributes in goat meat value chain in the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi. Choice experiment data from 270 consumers was analyzed using the random parameter logit (RPL) model. The results showed that 56% of the consumers were aware of the fair trade concept and 64% of them were willing to pay for fair trade compliant practices in goat meat value chains. Specifically, consumers were willing to pay a premium of 62% to prevent child labour, 45% to support provision of medical insurance for workers in the meat value chain, 40% for direct purchase from producers, 39% for fair trade labelling and 30% to support the disabled people as part of corporate social responsibility. These findings should be integrated in the goat meat value chain in order to make the enterprises more responsive to the ethical concerns of various stakeholders. Key words: fair trade, consumer willingness-to-pay, goat meat, Kenya. Acknowledgement : The author appreciates useful insights from colleagues at the University of Nairobi.