Consumer willingness to pay for food safety in Shanghai China: A case study of gap-certified milk

Abstract

From the melamine incident of Sanlu milk powder in 2008 to the illegal food additives incident of Bright Dairy in 2012, the food safety problems of milk have been plaguing the Chinese National diet. This paper analyzed consumer willingness to pay for food safety in Shanghai China through a case study of GAP certified milk. Shanghai consumers were selected for the survey, in which a contingent valuation was conducted. The study found that consumers were willing to pay for GAP certificated milk at an average price of 2.38 RMB/250 ml, 18.5% higher than the ordinary milk price. The results of the binary logistic regression model showed that the factors that affect consumers' willingness to pay include gender, income, the price of GAP certified milk and whether there were preschoolers in the household as statistically significant.