DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR FOR INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL RICE VARIETIES IN COLOMBO DISTRICT

Abstract

Rice, being the staple food with a per -caita consumption, fluctuates around 100 kg per year in S Though current mass production of rice is driven by a handful of improved varieties, historically Sri L cultivated more than 280 varieties of endemic rice varieties. They are known to contain high in nutritio and medicinal properties. With the incrasing awareness, people tend to be more health consciou indigenous rice varieties have considerable demand in the market. Commercial rice growers and sma rice farmers have already created a niche market among local consumers for the se indigenous tradit The goal of this research is to ascertain the determinants of consumer buying behaviour for tradition Colombo. It was based on a market survey of 122 respondents using interviewer administered ques The majority of the respondents consume traditional rice, that is 70%. From the analysis the variables the purchasing behaviour are the marital status, gender, age, ethnicity, and net household income p 52.3% of the respondents selected Suw andal as most preferred traditional rice variety and Kurulu Kaluheenati being preferred to second and third place respectively. The results also indicated that the in price (Friedman rank mean = 5.25) is more crucial to motivate consumer s’ choice, and more availa local market, and incremental of consumer’s income determined consumer preference for traditional ranked 5.07 and 4.52