Domestic and imported fruit consumption frequency among urban dwellers in Ghana

Wang, S.; Florkowski, W. J.; Sarpong, D. B.; Chinnan, M. S.; Resurreccion, A. V. A.

Domestic and imported fruit consumption frequency among urban dwellers in Ghana

2016

Wang, S. | Florkowski, W. J. | Sarpong, D. B. | Chinnan, M. S. | Resurreccion, A. V. A.

Fresh fruit consumption positively influence on health maintenances, disease prevention and weight management (Badurally et al., 2012). WHO (2002) recommends that the daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables at 400 g per day, but it falls below the recommended amount in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana stands out among African countries with relatively high average per capita fruit consumption but still at insufficient level (Hall et al., 2009). This paper examines factors that determine the consumption frequency of fresh fruit by urban consumers in Ghana. The illustration is based on three selected fruits: orange, pineapple, and apple. The selection is intended to account for domestically produced fruit, orange and pineapple, and the fruit that is imported, but familiar to many consumers, an apple. The study uses data collected from a survey among urban population in Ghana in 2011. The multivariate probit technique is applied to estimate three probit equations for consumption of three fruit given daily, weekly, or monthly frequency. Results show that daily consumption of all three fruit was strongly influenced by income, and selectively, by the employment status and location. Weekly consumption was influenced by location, employment status, and the level of education as well as household size. Monthly consumption frequency was primarily associated with location factors. Overall, fruit consumption is strongly positively influenced by income, having a government job, reporting at least a secondary level of education, but location and demographic characteristics have variable directional influence on consumption of the three fruit. Improving incomes and education level will lead to increased consumption of the three fruit.

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