Date of Graduation

8-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

Advisor/Mentor

Alvaro Durand-Morat

Committee Member

Lawton Lanier Nalley

Second Committee Member

Michelle Chevelev-Bonatti

Abstract

Rice is a crucial contributor to global food security and is an important staple for over half the world’s population. In Colombia, total rice consumption has grown by 25% in the last decade (2011-2021), reaching 1.9 MMT in 2021, yet in 2021 around 15.5 million Colombians were classified as food insecure. Colombia is the third largest rice producer in Latin America, producing 1.8 million metric tons (milled basis) in 2021. Increasing rice consumption coupled with high levels of food insecurity highlights the necessity that rice markets effectively price rice according to consumer preferences. Therefore, the goal of this study focuses on consumer preferences for rice with different broken percentages. Broken rice not only lowers the economic value of the rice crop but also can reduce the rice available for food consumption. A choice experiment and hedonic price model were implemented in Cali and Palmira, Colombia, in April of 2022 to analyze the revealed versus stated preferences for rice quality attributes. The findings of this study highlight potential inefficiencies between what consumers are willing to pay for regarding broken rice versus what is revealed in the market. It gives the rice industry important information about using broken rice for human or non-human consumption. The results also spark a discussion about the importance of knowing the food quality consumers prefer and the potential implications of those choices from an economic and food-security point of view.

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