Market outlet choices in the context of changing demand for fresh meat: implications for smallholder inclusion in pork supply chain in Vietnam

This paper reports on the findings of a study to investigate market outlet choice decision-making of urban consumers in Vietnam with regards to fresh pork purchases and generate empirical evidence on factors that influence these choices. Data from a survey of 600 consumers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City was used to estimate a multinomial logit model of market outlet choice based on three alternatives: traditional temporary market outlets, permanent open markets, and modern retail outlets. Results suggest that market outlet choice by consumers of fresh pork in urban cities of Vietnam is conditioned by factors related to mobility and level of affluence, time budgets, concerns about food safety and hygiene, proximity to market outlets, and geographical location which captures the effects of income differences, traditional marketing practices, and prevailing market infrastructure. There is a valid case for continued viability of traditional market outlets as suppliers of fresh pork to urban consumers in Vietnam.