C0NSUMER WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR VALUE ADDED MEAT PRODUCT

Willingness to pay is the largest sum of money an individual is agreeable to pay for a product or service. In other words, it is the maximum sum a consumer is willing to pay to acquire some good or service, or the maximum sum an individual is willing to pay to avoid a prospective loss (Wise Geek 2014).

In general, willingness to pay (WTP) is a reflection of the maximum amount a consumer thinks a product or service is worth. It is considered when developing and asking price for products and service, although it is important to note that it is not the final arbiter of pricing. In addition to being involved in the pricing process, it is also considered when conducting larger studies about how consumers interact with products and services (Wise Geek 2014).

Furthermore, willingness to pay is defined as the maximum price a buyer accepts to pay for a given quantity of goods or services (Kalish and Nelson, 2005, Kristensen and Garling, 2004, Krishna, Wagner et al., 2006) or the “floor reservation price” therefore corresponds to the maximum monetary sacrifice at which at which and under which the consumer is 100% certain to buy the product. Willingness to pay corresponds to the maximum monetary sacrifice the consumer accepts to make in return for all the benefits received or that he will receive in the future.

Adding value is the process of changing or transforming a product from its original state to a more valuable state. A broad definition of value added is to economically add value to a product by changing its current place, time and form one set of characteristics to other characteristics that are more preferred in the market place (Mike Roland, 2009) value added refers to “extra” features of an item of interest (product, Service, Person, etc) that go beyond the standard expectations and provide something “more”, even if it costs higher to the consumer.

Value added meat products are products such as meat pies, sausage, rolls, beef, chicken, pork, mutton, chevon (and their other varieties and bye products) prepared as steak and other edible meat products.

Value added meat products cuts across just the edibility components as mentioned above. Other value added meat products may include varieties of leather products such as shoes, bags and belts. These meat products, value become enhanced when they have been transformed from their raw state into a more valuable, economic, essential, acceptable and presentable form.

Due to food safety and environmental quality concerns policy makers worldwide are attaching much importance to the production and consumption of value added meat products. The consumption of these meat products could enhance the prevention of some of the health hazards associated with the consumption of conventional meat products.

Meat, being a rich source of high quality protein, vitamins fats and oil is an important source of income and employment to millions of rural people, wealth creation and poverty alleviation in Nigeria, since they constitute important raw materials for the local food industries as well as the fast growing restaurants and supermarkets in the country (Komar et al., 2010).

In the middle of rapid urbanization, income growth changing work schedule, shifts in production technology and liberalized markets, meat appears to have become a dominant affordable “convenience” food in many West African, following many developed counties around the world. The need for urban convenience has facilitated the establishment of restaurants and food outlets thereby causing an increased demand for value added meat products in the country today to suit consumers’ convenience, taste and preferences (Martinez, 2007).