Consumer Preferences of Seafood Types in Belgium, Spain and Italy

Abstract

Fish or seafood is an important element of the Mediterranean diet and also a part of the traditional European diet. Belgium, Spain, and Italy are the major seafood export destinations of India, in Europe in terms of value (US $ millions) and in terms of Quantity (in MT). Surveying the seafood consumers in these market will help the country identify the seafood needs and expectations of the consumers in these countries. Information was collected from the consumers through a structured questionnaire. Consumers were asked to rank their preference of seafood type. The mean ranks of the consumers of the three countries were compared with a drawing of a spider chart. The seafood types mainly categorised in the questionnaire were fish, shrimp, mussel, crab, lobster, squid and cuttlefish. Data of 294 respondents was collected from seafood consumers of Belgium (148), Spain (87), and Italy (59). The data was collected from Brussels seafood expo 2016. These results are significant for the marketers and producers of the seafood industry to help plan efficient marketing strategies and build new business opportunities. Exporting seafood on the basis of preferences of the consumers will fetch more value for the country during export.

Keywords: Consumer Behaviour, Seafood, Seafood Preferences, Spain, Belgium, Italy

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