Consumption Pattern of Local Meat Products in Nigeria: Market Insights for Meat Entrepreneurs

Abstract

This study was conducted (November, 2015 to February, 2016) to investigate the consumption pattern of indigenous meat products in Nigeria. The meat products studied were dambun nama, tsire, balangu, tukunya, kilishi, pepper soup, fried meat and pomo, as influenced by respondents’ age, sex and socio-cultural background. The results revealed that there were significant age differences with respect to consumers ‘preferences of balangu, fried meat (P<0.05) and tsire (P<0.01). Other meat products such as kilishi, dambun nama, pomo, tukunya and pepper soup did not differ significantly with age of respondents. The results also showed that there were no significant differences in all the products except pomo which differed significantly (P<0.05) with respect to consumers’ preferences by sex. The results further indicated that most of these products investigated were rated between 4 (dislike slightly) and 7 (like moderately). There were also significant (P<0.05) differences with respect to preferences of tsire, kilishi, dambu, balangu, tukunya and pepper soup among the various socio-cultural groups considered. Significant interactions of age x tribe (P<0.05), age x sex and sex x age x tribe (P<0.01) existed for consumers’ preferences of these products. The highest percentage of respondents (24.3%) liked dambun nama extremely, followed by those who liked very much (22.2%), and the lowest percentage (1.4%) was for those who disliked dambun nama extremely and very much. Most respondents (22.9 and 22.2%) were for those who liked the product very much and liked extremely, respectively. These were followed by (21.5%) for those who liked the product moderately. Lowest consumer preferences of tsire (1.4%) were for those who disliked it extremely. This study concludes that local meat products were well-cherished and enjoyed wide acceptability among the panellists. There was a glaring preference in consumption pattern of these products, which was also influenced by interplay of age, sex and socio-cultural backgrounds of respondents. It is suggested that standardizing the methods of processing/production of the indigenous meat products would go a long way towards developing the local meat industry in the country.