Vegtables consumption in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina

Abstract

Tucumán province has few statistical records regarding vegetables commercialization and market magnitude data. There are neither estimates on market segmentation nor on demand key factors. For these reasons, the aim of the present work is to characterize the retail vegetable market in Tucumán province, in order to facilitate decision making to both producers and public policy makers. The data collection instrument used was a poll to consumers. The information obtained was analyzed by different statistical methods, univariate, bivariate and multivariate. Among the results, it is highlighted a right asymmetry in the distribution of the expense in vegetables, determining, that most people incur in small expenses each time they buy vegetables. It is also pointed out that the most consumed vegetables in Tucumán are potato, tomato and onion. Sale channels analyses showed that the neighborhood greengroceries are the preferred places for Tucumán consumers, who buy products mainly near their homes because of proximity reasons, showing a traditional behavior in this aspect. In addition, the market has a strong segmentation: gender, since women buy more than men; age, since adults consume more than young people and children; and income, since high-income families consume more than low-income families.