Rice demand in Tanzania: an empirical analysis

Abstract We investigate the consumer side of the Tanzania rice market with the primary objective of estimating price elasticities of imported and domestically produced rice. Previous studies of the rice market in Tanzania claim that domestic rice is implicitly protected by consumer preference of its perceived better quality. However, rice producers increasingly complain that imported rice adversely impacts the price of domestic rice. Using household consumer survey data, we estimate price and expenditure elasticities of imported rice, domestic rice, and maize to assess their substitutability in the Tanzanian diet. Our results show that Tanzanian consumers have a preference for domestic rice varieties with weak substitutability between domestic and imported rice varieties.