Demand for vegetables in a Chinese wholesale market

Abstract

Reforms in Chinese food markets have given consumers greater freedom and choices in their consumption decisions. An LA/AIDS model is applied to wholesale market data for vegetables to measure price sensitivity in an open market. The data set from 1988 to 1994 is divided into two periods to analyze how vegetable consumption is responding to the reforms. Chinese consumers are found to be more price responsive in the latter period, implying that they are taking advantage of the increased competition in the market. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.