Effect of age and gender on consumer preference for physical attributes of rice

Abstract

Rice is a major food in Sri Lankans diet. Different physical attributes of rice are available for human consumption in Sri Lankan market. Physical attributes of rice are related with rice consumption and they might affect on consumer preference. Therefore, this study was conducted to study consumer preference for different physical attributes of rice. Main physical attributes; rice pericarp color, rice grain size and degree of milling were used in this study. Age and gender were considered as main socioeconomic characteristics in this study. A questionnaire survey was carried out by using a purposively sample of 100 consumers in Hambantota administrative complex. The ranking score method and Chisquare test were used for analyzing. The results indicated that based on gender and age categories, most preferred rice pericarp color was red rice. Study reveals that based on gender and age categories, partially-milled rice was the most preferred and long slender (Basmati) was the most preferred rice and short round (Samba) was significant based on age. Overall, based on gender and age of consumers, study recommends red color, long slender, partially-milled rice for Hambanatota district.