Price premiums for wildlife-friendly rice: Insights from Japanese retail data

Abstract

Integrating the benefits associated with biodiversity into market mechanisms can play an important role in conservation practice. Food labeling is a widely used measure that highlights biodiversity conservation benefits to the market. However, few studies have explored the effects of labels on staple agricultural products that are associated with agro-ecosystem conservation. We evaluated the biodiversity price premium of wildlife-friendly rice by analyzing data from retail stores in Japan. The results showed a significant positive impact of biodiversity-relevant labels on rice prices. Specifically, rice with this type of labeling had about 20% price premium as compared with rice that did not. The results also showed that outcome-based certifications have the potential to work well in the market. The findings highlight the role of conservation marketing in agro-ecosystem conservation and its potential to help balance biodiversity conservation and food security.