Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a highly evaluated regional brand of rice, a domestic agricultural product, can maintain an excellent evaluation in the future, within an uncertain international agricultural market. To predict future changes to consumer preferences, we analyzed some effects of price, quality, cultivation method, and producer attribution on consumer preference; we did so by using the pair comparison method, while also using domestic, top-grade rice as a benchmark and three US rice types as a competitive commodity . Under the assumed market conditions, approximately20% of the low-price-oriented consumers supported the US rice types, whereas most of the consumers were safety-oriented with regard to food risk. Furthermore, we found that in the absence of precise information regarding risk or the producer of the agricultural products, consumer decision-making may be influenced mor e by price.
