產地國標示與臺灣消費者對國產牛肉之價格溢酬

Country-of-origin Labeling and Price Premium of Domestic Beef in Taiwan

牛肉是臺灣肉品消費的重要品項之一。由於市場上多為進口牛肉，本文利用條件選擇法來誘導、估算消費者對於有標示產地國牛肉之願付溢酬，並討論條件選擇法中問卷折數設計是否會影響願付溢酬之估計。利用2008 年電話調查所蒐集的1,028 筆有效資料，配合mixed logit 模型的設定，本文針對臺灣、美國與澳洲等三個不同產地國牛肉進行實證分析。研究結果顯示相較於美、澳等進口牛肉，臺灣消費者會因為牛肉具有明確的產地國標示，願意對國產牛肉支付較高的溢酬；同時，偏好臺灣牛肉的消費者，其平均願付溢酬遠高於偏好進口牛肉者。對於目前含瘦肉精之美國牛肉進口爭議，本研究所估算的國產牛肉之價格溢酬，寓意深遠：臺灣牛肉的競爭力，必須依靠全面強制牛肉的產地國標示來提升；至於政府該如何執行，將是一大挑戰。

Beef is one of the most consumed meat products in Taiwan. Since beef ismostly imported from other countries, this study employed the contingent choicemethod to collect data and to estimate the price premium for domestically producedbeef. We also investigated the impact of varying price discounts onchoice behavior in a contingent choice survey. Using a telephone survey, 1,028observations were collected and used to estimate a mixed logit model. This studycompared beef from Taiwan, the United States, and Australia. Our results showthat consumers in Taiwan are willing to pay a higher premium for domestic beefthan imported beef if the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) is clearly shown inthe market place. Moreover, consumers who prefer domestic beef are willing topay a higher premium than those who prefer imported beef. Our estimated highprice premium for domestic beef has important implications for the currentdebate on the importation of American beef with ractopamine residue to Taiwan.The competitiveness for domestic beef depends critically on the enforcement ofmandatory COOL for beef. Yet, how to implement the COOL policy remains abig challenge for the Taiwan government.