Demand Analysis for Surimi-based Products in Japan

Download or read book Demand Analysis for Surimi-based Products in Japan written by Seung-woo Kim and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the "200 miles" fishery conservation zones were established by some coastal countries, new arrangements between countries to participate jointly in fishing, processing, and marketing of fish products have emerged. One such fish product is surimi. As a result of extended jurisdiction, each coastal country's interest in the surimi industry is increasing and many efforts for market research and development of surimi technology are being taken in these countries. To understand this market it is important to know the nature of the demand for surimi-based products. However, there are not enough data available for demand analysis of surimi-based products due to the short history of the surimi industry on a global basis and the uncertain supply situation. Therefore, the Japanese market for surimi-based products, which has a long history and is the world's largest market for surimi, was chosen to improve understanding of the global market for surimi-based products. The approach adopted to meet this goal is the demand system approach, which allows the analysis to model the interdependencies among prices and consumption in consumer demand. Careful specification of demand relationships in the Japanese market for surimi-based products permits the testing of hypotheses about the impact of changes in availability of other seafoods and red meats on the demand for surimi-based products in Japan. Two different demand system models, the almost ideal demand system (AIDS) model and the habit formation (HF) model, are used for this demand analysis. Especially in the AIDS model, the homogeneity and symmetry restrictions are tested and the simultaneous impacts on consumption of surimi-based products, red meats, and other seafood of changes on the prices of these commodities are examined. The habit formation model is used mainly to investigate habit persistence in the Japanese market. The results of estimating the AIDS model show that the expenditure elasticities of surimi-based products are greater than unity and that the demands for surimi-based products are generally price-inelastic, while the own price elasticity of kamaboko is greater than unity. Also, these results show that surimi-based products are more likely to have complementary relationships with other fish products. However, the nature of substitutional relationships with red meats could not be determined by this analysis. The estimation results of the habit formation model show that habit persistence of consumers exists in Japan's fish and meat market, including surimi-based products.