Buyer preferences for durum wheat: a stated preference approach

The central issue addressed in this paper is the attributes preferred by a sample of buyers of durum wheat grown in Canada. Primary emphasis is the value placed on certain visual and nonvisual attributes by US buyers of durum wheat. In addition, a source variable in the analysis is used to test preferences of US buyers for US-source compared to Canadian-source durum. The latter is a method to test whether durum millers in the US believe that Canadian durum is a superior product, a view widely-held in the Canadian grain trade. Results indicate that higher bushel weight has a positive effect on purchase probability, and appears to be more important to buyers ’ purchasing decision than protein content, amylase content, or the choice between no. 1 and no. 2 grade. US millers in the study are shown either a) to prefer US-grown durum over that from Canada, or b) to dislike the single desk seller arrangements involved in purchasing Canadian durum. It appears that US managers who grow or market durum wheat have a competitive edge over their Canadian competitors when marketing to US-based durum users. © 200