History Of The Poultry Industry In Mauritius

Poultry meat is an important segment of the consumption structure of various meat types. According to Vukasovic, poultry meat has properties that can be classified into three major trends: it is suitable for every occasion, it makes meal preparation quick and easy (convenience and snacking trend), it provides diverse, tasty and enjoyable meals (pleasure and indulgence trend) and low fat content makes it easily digestible (health and well-being trend). These trends are helping to grow the poultry meat industry.

However, the world global poultry meat market is developing under the influence of shocks caused by the outbreak of the avian influenza which spread to the poultry meat market at the end of 2005. The virus affected the entire world poultry meat industry and thus visibly marked the world trade in poultry meat Vukasovic,(2010). Moreover, consumer confidence in food has been dented by growing concern about risks to public health. Consumer awareness of food safety related risks has been heightened by incidents involving microbiological contamination such as salmonella, chemical residues in food such as dioxins, and the possible consequences of technological interventions such as genetically modified organisms. Yeung and Morris,(2001)

Context of the Study (Background Information)

Over the past decade, there has been a remarkable growth in local chicken meat production which increased from 12,500 t in 1990 to 33,000 t in 2005. The per capita consumption which was 21.8 kg/annum in 2000 increased to 25 kg/annum in 2005 representing 70 % of the total meat consumed. This is considered low compared to other developed countries where per capita consumption of chicken meat is 33 kg/annum. Due to rising incomes, improved standard of living, change in food habits and a flourishing tourist industry it is inevitable that the demand for chicken meat will continue to grow. It is estimated that the per capita consumption will increase to 34 kg/annum. (Ministry of Agro Industries and Fisheries, 2007)

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Mauritius is self sufficient in poultry production as showed by Table 1.1 and Figure 1 below. However, following the Government’s announcement in the 2008/09 National Budget of the abolition of customs duty on almost all foodstuffs including chicken, it is feared that there may be a shift in consumption of locally produced chilled and frozen chicken in favour of imported frozen chicken form Brazil, whose products are extremely price competitive Cognito, (2008) . This can challenge the local industry and can have a major negative impact on the Mauritian Poultry Industry.

The Players and Characteristics of the Poultry Industry In Mauritius

The structure of the poultry industry in Mauritius is fragmented with two large producers Food Allied Industries Ltd. and Innodis Ltd., two medium producers , Poulet Arc En Ciel Ltd. and Montida Farms and many small producers. Food Allied Industries Ltd., Innodis Ltd. and Poulet Arc En Ciel Ltd. are highly capital intensive and are in the same strategic group and competing in the same market. Health and Labour regulations are fully applied by the large producers. Large producers are suppliers to the hypermarkets. Rivalry between them is reducing their bargaining power. Competitive forces and rivalry are so strong that players are at the mercy of each other. The small farms are low cost producers and have low entry and exit barriers. Large producers are themselves lowering entry barrier by providing low cost of inputs (Day Old Chicks & Feed) and also provide free training to achieve good technical performance. (Price waterhouse Coopers, (2006)

The small producers do not produce their Day Old Chicks and their weekly requirement from suppliers as shown in Table 1.2.

The small producers adopt a focus strategy and supply public markets (Bazar). Small producers are operating without real competitors. There are actually four market segments namely frozen, chilled, live birds and further processed. The production by company is given in Table 1.3.

Problem Definition

Deep deficits in thinking about consumer information reveal themselves in weak product and service development, low-impact marketing communications and ineffective product-launch strategies. These deficits are widespread across industries. Remedying this deficiency is arguably the single largest challenge facing corporate leaders today. Harvard Business Publishing, (2009). Moreover, successful marketing requires that companies fully connect with their customers and gaining a thorough, in-depth consumer understanding helps to ensure that the right products are marketed to the right consumers in the right way Kotler, and Keller ,( 2006).

Gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding of the consumer buying behaviour and perceived food safety risks for poultry meat would be appropriate for the poultry meat production companies operating in Mauritius, particularly due to the growing market and increased competition. This research undertakes to assess the factors influencing consumer buying behaviour and perceived food safety risks for poultry meat.

Significance of the study

According to White, (2002) there are a number of factors, which may influence the choice of a dissertation topic. Among which, a real interest in a subject is vitally important. An in-depth understanding of consumer buying behaviour is an area of personal interest. This interest is also dictated by having working experience in the poultry industry for having worked for more than 20 years as production and maintenance manager in one of the biggest production and processing poultry company in Mauritius. The study will help to fulfill those interests and will be among the motivational factors to deliver a high level of professional work.

According to Kotler, and Keller, (2006 ), the aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers’ needs and wants better than competitors. They further argue that successful marketing requires that companies fully connect with their customers and gaining a thorough, in-depth consumer understanding helps to ensure that the right products are marketed to the right consumers in the right way. This study will fill a gap and will provide guidance to the poultry industry to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the factors influencing consumer buying behaviour and perceived food safety risks for poultry meat in Mauritius. The research findings will also be an appropriate input to benchmark against current marketing strategies adopted by the poultry industry so as to identify gaps for improvement as put forward by Batra & Kazmi (2004): ‘The single most important concern for marketers is to influence consumer behaviour in a desired manner’.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the dissertation is to contribute a research study on the factors influencing consumer buying behaviour and perceive food safety risk for poultry meat in Mauritius.

The specific objectives of this research are:

To evaluate the effect of food safety risk perception on purchase likelihood

To assess the influence of product quality on the purchase likelihood of poultry meat

To evaluate the effect of service quality offered on purchase likelihood of poultry meat

To investigate the impact of place of purchase on purchase likelihood

To assess the attitude towards country of origin on purchase likelihood

To check the effect of price on purchase likelihood

Research Questions

The following research questions have been asked:

Are customers aware of the different poultry products?

Which ones they prefer?

Which type of poultry products they purchase?

Do they purchase chilled, fresh(wet market) or frozen poultry products?

What is the frequency of purchase?

How much do they buy at each time?

How to they pay for the poultry products?

When will they purchase poultry? Does the product quality of poultry products influence the purchase likelihood?

Is service quality of importance to the consumers? What are the service quality dimensions that are most important for them?

Is the place of purchase important for the customer?

What is their overall level of satisfaction with the service quality?

Are they aware of the food safety risks?

Which ones are more important for them?

Will food safety risk perception impact on purchase likelihood?

price

Structure of the Report

Chapter 1 – Introduction

An introduction to the Poultry industry in Mauritius and consumer buying behaviour and food safety for poultry meat is given in Chapter 1. The research problem is defined and the aim and objectives are then outlined.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

In this chapter the literature on consumer buying behaviour and food safety concepts and theories has been reviewed. The antecedents of consumer buying behaviour for poultry have been elaborated to formulate a proposed conceptual framework.

Chapter 3 – Research Methodology

A detailed explanation of how the research was conducted to fulfil the objectives of the study is outlined in Chapter 3.

Chapter 4 – Analysis of Findings

The findings obtained from the survey are analysed in this Chapter to provide an insight of the consumer buying behaviour in the poultry industry in Mauritius.

Chapter 5 – Discussion and Recommendations

This Chapter gives a discussion on the findings and their managerial implications. Then recommendations are proposed.

Chapter 6 – Conclusion

The conclusion reached concerning consumer buying behaviour in the poultry industry is given in this Chapter followed by limitations and directions for future research.