Price premiums for wildlife‐friendly rice: Insights from Japanese retail data

Abstract

Abstract Integrating the benefits associated with biodiversity into market mechanisms can play an important role in conservation practice. Food labeling is a widely used measure that highlights biodiversity conservation benefits to the market. However, few studies have explored the effects of labels on staple agricultural products that are associated with agro‐ecosystem conservation. We evaluated the biodiversity price premium of wildlife‐friendly rice by analyzing data from retail stores in Japan. The results showed a significant positive impact of biodiversity‐relevant labels on rice prices. Specifically, rice with this type of labeling had about 20% price premium as compared with rice that did not. The results also showed that outcome‐based certifications have the potential to work well in the market. The findings highlight the role of conservation marketing in agro‐ecosystem conservation and its potential to help balance biodiversity conservation and food security.

Keywords

• conservation marketing
• eco‐label
• environmentally friendly farming
• hedonic price model