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The value of responsibly farmed fish: A hedonic price study of ASC-certified whitefish

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  • Asche, Frank
  • Bronnmann, Julia
  • Cojocaru, Andreea L.

Abstract

In recent years, several studies have identified price premiums for wild seafood certified as sustainably produced. Even though more than half of seafood for human consumption originates from aquaculture, not much attention has been given to consumer preferences for sustainability certified farmed fish, and to the implied price premiums for such products. This is the first paper to use market data to investigate the presence of price premiums in association with an ecolabel for farmed seafood, namely the label of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). Using hedonic price analysis, we look at premiums related to the three most consumed farmed whitefish species in Germany: rainbow trout, pangasius, and tilapia. Our results show that there exist price premiums for ASC-certified whitefish on the German market, which vary by species. Moreover, the magnitudes of the price premiums for ASC-certified products vary by retailer and brand and are negatively correlated with their price level.

Suggested Citation

  • Asche, Frank & Bronnmann, Julia & Cojocaru, Andreea L., 2021. "The value of responsibly farmed fish: A hedonic price study of ASC-certified whitefish," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:188:y:2021:i:c:s0921800921001932
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107135
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    Cited by:

    1. Yifan Xie & Yingkai Fang & Dengjun Zhang, 2022. "How Environmental Performance Affects Financial Performance in the Food Industry: A Global Outlook," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Taryn M. Garlock & Frank Asche & James L. Anderson & Håkan Eggert & Thomas M. Anderson & Bin Che & Carlos A. Chávez & Jingjie Chu & Nnaemeka Chukwuone & Madan M. Dey & Kevin Fitzsimmons & Jimely Flore, 2024. "Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Yuting Liu & Abdoul G. Sam, 2022. "The organic premium of baby food based on market segments," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(3), pages 533-556, July.
    4. Bronnmann, Julia & Asche, Frank & Pettersen, Ingrid Kristine & Sogn-Grundvåg, Geir, 2023. "Certify or not? The effect of the MSC certification on the ex-vessel prices for Atlantic cod in Norway," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    5. Onozaka, Yuko & Honkanen, Pirjo & Altintzoglou, Themistoklis, 2023. "Sustainability, perceived quality and country of origin of farmed salmon: Impact on consumer choices in the USA, France and Japan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    6. Natali, F. & Cacchiarelli, L. & Branca, G., 2022. "There are plenty more (sustainable) fish in the sea: A discrete choice experiment on discarded species in Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    7. François-Charles Wolff & Frédéric Salladaré & Laurent Baranger, 2024. "A classification of buyers in first-sale fish markets: Evidence from France," Post-Print hal-04586532, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Aquaculture stewardship council ASC; Consumer preferences; Ecolabeling; Hedonic pricing; Price premium; Scanner data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • Q22 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Fishery

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