Pacific PARDI Project;

Whole of Chain Research on the Fiji Food Industry

Craig Johns

Global Food Studies

University of Adelaide

Pacific Value Chain Conference

Nadi, Fiji

18th April 2013

Presentation Plan

1. Background

2. Fiji Retail Transformation Project

3. Early Insights

4. Next Steps

Background

Global Retail Transformation What is happening globally?

Consumers are changing their shopping behaviour

Spending more at modern outlets

Why? What are the drivers?

Supply; Private sector investment in food chains, increased number of modern outlets,

modern store environment and greater product range

Demand; Rising urban population, increased demand for modern store environment and

product range => increased spending at modern outlets

Potential Impacts and Implications

Small local suppliers can not always respond to the retailer requirements of quality,

consistency, volume and new transaction methods

Policy makers and other industry stakeholders are faced with tough decisions on food

security, import substitution and what is best for the local agricultural sector and local

consumers

Therefore it is quite important to understand what is happening in the Fiji

food industry

Some Import Figures

Raw Data provided by Fiji Bureau of Stats

Trade Figures

Increased prices can be explained by tariff increases and the

20% depreciation of the $FJD in 2009

Hotels still require these key ingredients and over the same

period tourist figures are up, so why has volume of some

imported produce almost halved?

Has increased import prices encouraged hotels (and supermarkets) to

source more locally?

Have local farmers and traders been able to supply more produce?

Is the Fiji food industry transforming? At what rate? What effect is

it having along the whole chain?

These are the questions that prompted further research

Pacific PARDI Project

PARDI stands for ‘Pacific Agribusiness Research for

Development Initiative’

Funding is through the Australian Centre for

International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

University of Adelaide’s role in PARDI is to;

Identify market and chains capable of increasing livelihood benefits

Identify researchable constraints in these chains

Develop research based interventions with our collaborative

partners

Fiji Retail Transformation

Project

Fiji Retail Transformation Project partners include USP, SPC, FBOS and the Fiji Ministry of

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests

Progress in 2012

Completed 1000 urban household surveys on consumer preferences and

shopping patterns

Interviewed all major supermarket chains, a selection of hotels & resorts and all

major Fiji food processors across Viti Levu

Plans for 2013

Survey Fiji Producers mid year to find out their perspective

Survey Fiji Traders later in 2013 to understand how they link producers to the

markets

Early Insights

Larger Tourist Destination Resorts Warwick, Naviti, Outrigger, Shangri-La & Intercontinental

Smaller Transit and Conference Hotels

Novotel Nadi & Lami, Mercure, Tanoa Nadi and Suva, Holiday Inn

Vegetable Chain Map into Fiji Hotel & Resorts

Early Insights from Hotels and Resorts

Better understanding of;

The Hotel and Resort sector in Fiji

Differences between transit hotels and larger destination resorts

Hotel requirements and constraints

Price and freshness incentives to buy local

Capability of middleman to service large resorts is limited

Resorts need consistency, reliability and volume

Detailed insights were shared at the PGS workshop on the 14th and

15th Nov. PGS is now attempting to link specific farmers to specific

resorts for selected ‘best bet’ vegetables and will link to other

relevant projects (RTP, protected cropping project, MDF and IKSA)

for wider benefit

Retail Outlets

Supermarkets

Speciality Stores, Corner shops

Retail Outlets

Municipal Markets

Roadside Stalls / Fast food

Fiji Retail and Food Service Fruit and Veg Map

Early Insights from Supermarkets

Supermarkets use centralised buying for imported fruits and

vegetables but rely on individual store managers to source local

produce

Local supply to individual supermarkets is made up mainly of

farmer/middlemen who collect produce from the local region

Supermarkets aim to be a ‘one stop’ shop for consumers but

price and space pressure is seeing some reduction in the range

of produce offered

Supermarkets in close proximity to municipal markets focus more

on imported fruits and vegetables rather than compete on local

produce

Source: Richard Beyer’s report ‘The supply of local fresh fruits and vegetables to supermarkets’

1000 Urban HH Surveys across Suva and Nadi

15 pages long, 2 hours to conduct

79 different food categories

Fiji Householder Consumer Survey

Fiji Householder Consumer Survey Not only asking questions about ‘What’ and ‘How Much’ but also

‘From Where’, ‘Why’ and ‘How has purchasing behaviour

changed’

Covers 8 different types of food outlet

Supermarket

Roadside Stall / Hawker

Corner shop / Butcher and Bakery

Fish Market

Main market in town / city

Restaurant

Fast Food

Service Station

Results are still being analysed but I have some really early

insights I can share

Food Shopping patterns

Share of food spending by type of food outlet (percent of food expenditure)

Food shopping patterns Some food products where more than 70% of spending is at Supermarkets

Wheat and Flour 99.2

Breakfast Cereal 99.2

Chocolate and sweets 99.1

Rice 98.9

Processed Seafood 94.1

Soda, Fruit juice & soft drinks 89.8

Processed or frozen

vegetables 89.3

Processed Meat 80.4

Fresh Onion 78.5

Fresh Garlic 78.1

Fresh Potato 77.8

Fresh Milk 77.4

Processed or frozen fruits 71.7

Some food products where less than 3% of spending is at Supermarkets

Fresh seafood (other) 2.9

Fresh Breadfruit 2.7

Fresh Beans 2.4

Fresh Mango 2.3

Fresh Banana 1.9

Fresh Cabbage 1.9

Fresh Eggplant 1.7

Leafy vegetables 1.7

Fresh Pineapple 1.2

Fresh Cassava 1.2

Fresh Taro 0.4

22

Frequency of shopping at each food outlet (%)

Super-

market

Rd side/

Hawker

Cnr shop

/butcher

Fish

market

Main

market Restaurant

Fast

food

Service

station Total

Everyday 1.3 0.8 9.9 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 1.7

2-6 times

per wk 8.9 23.6 45.5 1.8 9.4 2.9 1.2 3.6 12.1

Once a

wk 54.6 22.4 17.7 29.8 53.3 4.2 3.0 5.0 23.8

2-3 times

per

month

27.5 15.4 12.1 26.2 23.4 8.9 4.2 7.4 15.6

Once a

month 7.5 7.7 4.8 21.2 7.8 12.8 7.1 5.4 9.3

Only a

few times

a yr

0.2 11.3 3.7 10.1 3.1 34.3 26.7 14.5 13.0

Never 0.0 18.8 6.3 10.4 2.6 36.5 57.6 63.8 24.5

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Mode of Transport (%)

Super-

market

Rd side/

Hawker

Cnr shop

/butcher

Fish

market

Main

market Restaurant

Fast

food

Service

station Total

On

foot 21.4 66.4 78.8 14.9 10 14.9 8.8 24.5 32.1

Bicycle 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2

Car 20.7 14.7 12.0 22.0 20.5 25.4 30.9 33.4 20.7

Public

transp 48.9 14.2 6.7 54.8 64.5 51.6 50.8 35.4 40.8

Taxi 8.7 4.3 2.2 8.1 4.8 7.5 8.6 6.4 6.1

Other 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.1

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Important characteristics for ‘where’ to shop Somewhat

important Moderately important Important Extremely important

Store is close to

toilets Air-conditioning Store is easy to get to Food is safe to eat (90.7%)

Ability to purchase on

credit

Store provides discount

(sale)

Food products are fresh

(89.5%)

Fixed price Availability of frozen and

processed food

High quality food products

(80.8%)

Product is unpackaged Low Prices (79.7%)

Fast service Food product information

Availability of produce year

round Cleanliness

Store sells imported

produce Wide variety

Delivery Service Easy to find (display)

Flexible prices Friendly staff

Can purchase small

amounts Store sells local produce

Store is close to other non-

food shops Better opening hours

Main reason for using each food outlet Major Reasons Minor Reasons

Supermarket Low prices

Store is easy to get to

Sells imported products

Store is close to toilets*

Rd side Low prices

Store is easy to get to

Frozen/ processed foods

Product information*

Corner shop Low prices

Store is easy to get to

Air conditioning

Delivery service*

Fish market Food products fresh

Low Prices

Store provides discount

Sells imported products*

Main market Food products fresh

Low prices

Fixed price

Friendly staff*

Restaurant Low prices

Store is easy to get to

Ability to purchase on credit

Sells imported products*

Fast food Low prices

Fast service

Year round availability

Sells local product*

Service station Opening hours

Low prices

Store is close to toilets

Store provides discount*

*- other equal value minor reasons

Individual product insight

Where bought

most Why

Tomatoes Main market in

town

Food products are

fresh

Cabbage Main market in

town

Food products are

fresh

Fresh meat and poultry Butcher Low prices

Processed food items Supermarket Low prices

Buy Smaller

Quantities

%

About the

same

%

Larger

quantities

%

Tomatoes 19.9 54.7 25.4

Cabbage 13.1 48.2 38.7

Fresh meat&

poultry 21.3 51.8 26.9

Processed food

items 13.9 53.1 33

Individual product consumption change in last 5 years

Biggest food concern

I am concerned about; Strongly Agree (%) Strongly Disagree

(%)

The quality of my food 89 1

The safety of my food 88 <1

The price of food 82 6

Having enough food available 77 1

The nutritional content of my food 77 2

Whether the food was stored properly (refrigerated) 69 1

Local growers being able to sell their products 65 <1

The accuracy of information on food labels and food displays 62 4

Availability of certain foods all year round 52 2

Bacterial contamination of my food 38 34

Food imported from outside Fiji 37 7

The accuracy of information regarding halal certification 31 12

The use of pesticides to produce my food 29 21

The use of additives, preservatives and artificial colours 21 24

Next Steps

Next Steps

Further Analysis of HH Consumer Survey

By food outlet

By individual product and food groups

By different consumer groups

Income, education, location

Changes over last 5 years

To determine

Patterns of shopping behaviour

Future food purchasing trends

Implications for Fiji Agriculture

Next Steps

Future Activities in 2013.

Producer and Trader Surveys in 2013 to understand their role in the chain

Share research insights and collaborate with partners to

address constraints and opportunities

Government Agencies

Private Sector

Industry Associations / NGO’s

Other Research Partners

Opportunity to replicate this type of study in other

Pacific Countries

Any Questions?

Vinaka vaka levu

Presenter:

Craig Johns

University of Adelaide

Global Food Studies

Contact Details: Room 5.03, 10 Pulteney St,

Adelaide SA, 5005

Phone (08) 8313 6765

Mobile 0407 013 332

Fiji Mob 9265766

Email craig.johns@adelaide.edu.au