Japanese Household Fresh Fruits Demand Pattern

Abstract

Japanese people consumed at the average of 45.2 kg capita-1 in 1965 and had reached the peak of 54.6 kg capita-1 in 1973 but decreased to 27.5 kg capita-1 in 2006. Fresh fruits household expenses in Japan can be divided into 2 eras which is increasing era (1973-1992) and decreasing era (1992-2006) that shows the consumption pattern for the commodity. In Japan, fruits consumption distribution shows different pattern due to each fruit have different consumption characteristic and trend of demand. Therefore, it is crucial to understand economic characteristic for each fruit by understanding its price and expenditure elasticity. Present study covers the comparison study for the demand of fresh fruits by Japanese household across all over Japan for the period of 1973-1992 and 1992-2006. In this study, we analyze demand elasticity for fruits in general and other 14 fresh fruits available in Japanese market such as apple, pear, peach, persimmon, mandarin orange, orange, other citrus, grapefruits, watermelon, melon, strawberry, grape, banana and other fruit. The demand elasticity estimation was carried out using differentiated double logarithmic demand function. We used SHAZAM software for present regression analysis in this study. Present study have found the demand for fresh fruits by Japanese household are inferior goods and highly affected by the price. Generally, the demand for the fresh fruits by Japanese household is decrease. This study provides important information about the Japanese consumer demand for fresh fruits which could serve as guidelines for understanding consumer spending on fresh fruits as well as making structural marketing adjustments.