Thesis (BS Agribusiness Economics) University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2024

Fish is an essential source of protein for many individuals, including, Filipinos. However, there is an information gap regarding Filipinos’ preferences to understand the factors influencing consumer decisions to favor one retail format and fish type over another. Addressing this gap is crucial for successfully developing strategies to compete in a marketplace of this specific sector. This study aimed to identify sociodemographic factors of 634 consumers from Bohol and Negros Occidental in Visayas, and Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Surigao del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte in Mindanao that influenced their preference for retail outlets as well as fish types and calculated their fish expenditure to found out its implication on their fish consumption using the Multivariable Probit regression analysis. Descriptive statistics and two-tailed t-tests were also used to analyze additional information needed to explain and supplement the information provided. The results indicated that consumers preferred fish retail outlets such as talipapa, ambulant vendors, wet markets and supermarkets. In contrast, their preferred fish types were fresh, iced and dried. Furthermore, choosing their preferred retail outlet and fish types was influenced by various sociodemographic factors of the respondents, such as age, sex, employment status, income, IP affiliation, and education. Hence, this study suggests that the public and private sectors should collaborate to provide more fish products and retail outlets that are tailored to the specific income level, demographics, and cultural backgrounds of the consumers within and around the areas they particularly transact with every single day, while even generating positive effects to those who are indirectly involved in the entire chain, especially in the local bases.