An Economic Analysis of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: Implications for Overweight and Obesity among Higher- and Lower-Income Consumers

estimated results show statistically insignificant difference in price elasticities for higher- and
lower-income shoppers. Of course, unlike oranges and apples, berries are offered in fewer
alternative forms. Still, as shown in Table 2 and Graph 5, lower-income shoppers paid a much
lower price per pound for berries ($2.87 versus $3.40). Given the high price of berries, it seems
unreasonable to expect lower-income shoppers to increase their consumption significantly. Of
course, there is always the possibility that a commodity like berries can be shown to have
nutritional attributes that are critical to a healthy diet. Such attribute coupled with an effective
educational program could lead to significant changes in consumption behavior.

While a statistically insignificant difference was shown in the purchase behavior of
higher- and lower-income shoppers for berries, a statistically significant difference is shown for
soft fruit. The magnitudes of these elasticities are -1.61 versus -1.25 for lower- and higher-
income shoppers respectively. Also, just as lower-income shoppers used selective shopping
behavior to pay lower prices for citrus, apples and berries, they used similar behavior to pay
lower prices for soft fruit (Table 2 and Graph 5). As may have been expected, the magnitude of
this price difference is not very large because soft fruit is also offered in fewer alternative forms
than citrus and apples. Perhaps the best measure of the price impact is seen in the large
differences in quantity shares as measured by a percentage of both total produce and total fruit.
That is, higher-income shoppers are shown to have much higher percentages.

Bananas are an interesting sub-category of fruit because it is the least expensive of the
eight sub-categories. Indeed it is the only category of fruit in which lower-income shoppers paid
a slightly higher price than higher-income shoppers ($.55 vs $.49). Yet, lower-income shoppers
are shown to have a more elastic demand for bananas (-.99 versus -.57). One possible
explanation for the higher price paid by lower-income shoppers is the mix of bananas sold at the

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