Profile of peach palm fruit consumers in the Metropolitan Region of Belém, Pará, Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

People in the Amazon highly value the fruit of the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), but its commercialization is hampered because of consumers’ difficulty in identifying fruit of good quality. This study seeks to evaluate the behavior of peach palm fruit consumers in municipalities in the Belém Region in Pará State by conducting a survey of 200 consumers. Peach palm consumption frequency is low, and it has not grown over the past five years in the largest proportion of consumers. The attributes most consumers looked for when purchasing peach palm were its external aspects, displaying a preference for red, oily pulp, medium-sized fruits that were pitted. Consumers enjoy purchasing peach palm as bunches of raw fruit, and while they believe that the price is too high, they are willing to pay more for fruit of proven quality.