Preference for Local Products

% of respondents who prefer purchasing the local types of the promoted products as opposed to the imported ones

This indicator is useful in situations when an intervention aims to promote the sales of locally produced products (e.g. certain types of organic vegetables) or inputs (e.g. feeds or fertilizers) as opposed to products that are imported from other regions and countries. Such data is essential for understanding the extent to which the produce of the local producers can compete with the imports (that are often managed by larger companies).

1) Select a limited number (1 - 5) of the products (and their varieties / types) that you want to ask consumers about (for example, in the case of agriculture, certain varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers). These should, preferably, be products that people are at least vaguely familiar with, so that they are able to say whether they prefer them or not.

 

2) If you enquire about more than one product, define how many products people have to prefer in order to be labelled as ‘preferring local products’ (for example, at least 2 out of 3 products).

 

3) Define who the target consumers are (for example, adults who visit local vegetable markets or customers of local supermarkets).

 

4) Conduct individual interviews with a representative sample of the target group consumers (e.g. people visiting local vegetable markets), asking them whether they usually prefer to buy the local or an imported variety of a given product. Note that such assessments are prone to hypothetical bias: what individuals say they would do hypothetically is not necessarily what they would do in reality. To reduce the risk of this bias, always present two (or more) average-looking examples of both ‘competing’ products. Describe each product neutrally, including characteristics such as price, origin, colour, shape, and any other relevant features. Avoid asking directly whether people prefer buying local or imported products. Due to patriotism or other reasons, people might claim that they usually buy local products even when this is not the case.

 

5) To calculate the indicator's value, divide the number of respondents who usually prefer to buy locally produced products by the total number of respondents (exclude those who did not know or could not decide). Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregate the data by gender and age group.

1) Ensure that the enumerators ask all questions and provide the information in a highly neutral manner, so that they do not (even unintentionally) influence what the respondent says. The respondent should not be forced to say which product s/he prefers – there should be an answer option ‘does not know / cannot decide’.

 

2) It is recommended that the enumerators ask the respondents why they prefer the local or the imported product (do not accept answers “because it is local” or “because it is imported” – enquire why is local / imported better).