Preferences and willingness to pay for organic pears among high- income people in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile

A.A. Cerda, L.Y. García, F.J. Tolosa, and V.A. García. 2015. Preferences and willingness to pay for organic pears among high-income people in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. Cien. Inv. Agr. 42(2):181-189. The aim of this study is to determine the preferences and willingness to pay for organic pears among high-income people in the Metropolitan area of Santiago de Chile. To do this, the methods of conjoint analysis and contingent valuation were used. The study population was the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile. For the conjoint analysis, four attributes of pears were studied (variety, price, body, and production). For contingent valuation, subjects received a description of the organic production process vs. the conventional process and were then asked about their willingness to pay more per kilogram for pears produced organically. Both methodologies revealed a positive willingness to pay for pears. The estimated utility of each attribute level indicates that the Packham variety of pears, which are produced organically with a juicy body and lower price, are the characteristic attributes consumers preferred most. The relative importance of the attributes was as follows, in descending order: price (55.8%), external characteristics (20.6%), production type (13.5%), and body (10.1%). The mean willingness to pay was CLP 233 (USD 0.50) when using contingent valuation, whereas the marginal willingness to pay was CLP 31.6 when using conjoint analysis.