An Analysis of the Household Demand for Fish in Scotland

Though fish is high in nutrients that provide a range of health benefits, most people in Scotland only eat around half the amount of seafood recommended by health professionals. Therefore, this study aims to analyse Scottish consumers’ demand for fish using an incomplete demand system. The data in the analysis come from a home-scanner dataset for Scotland, which contains weekly data on food and drink purchases for consumption at home, covering the period 2013-2021. Price and income elasticities were estimated for five aggregate fish categories across seven household groups: pre-family, young family, middle family, older family, older dependents, empty nests, and retired family. The results show that among all household groups, the retired group spends more on total fish products out of their total budget for groceries. For most fish groups, the demand of families with children is more responsive to income and price changes than families with only adults.