A. BASARIR
United Arab Emirates University, College of Food and Agriculture, Agribusiness Department, Al-Ain, P.O. Box: 15551 UAE
BASARIR, A., 2013. An almost ideal demand system analysis of meat demand in UAE. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 32-39
The main objective of this research is to analyze demand for different meat commodities (beef, lamb, goat, chicken, camel, and fish) and the factors affecting the consumers’ preferences for each commodity in United Arab Emirates (UAE). A survey that used face-to-face interviews technique was conducted on five hundred randomly selected respondents from UAE. A Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System was adopted for this research. The regression component of the research was applied by using Seemingly Unrelated Regression Model (SUR). According to the results, educated respondents demand more lamb meat compared to other education variable’s categories in the sample and UAE nationals demand more beef compared to non-nationals. Research findings also indicated that, as household size increases demand for camel meat increases. As the income of respondents increases, their demand for beef decreases but for goat increases. Marshallian and Hicksian elasticities calculated from the model were between 1 and -1 making the products less responsive to price changes. Cross price elasticities indicate that the meat commodity of goat and beef, goat and chicken, camel and beef, and camel and fish as complements; but chicken and camel as substitutes. Having all significant expenditure elasticities for lamb, goat, and camel greater than one makes them luxury and the others necessity items in UAE household diet. As for income effect analysis; any increase in income of UAE households in the future would make them proportionally allocate more of their income to the purchase of fish, camel, goat, and lamb.