Changes in herring consumption in Russia

Abstract

In the seafood category Russian consumers are adopting new species and new product forms at a rapid rate. We employ a panel data set on monthly per capita demand for different herring products in six Russian regions to test hypotheses on the structure of herring consumption. Our econometric estimates indicate significant structural regional differences in per capita consumption of different products. We find that whole herring is generally an inferior good, whereas fillet herring products tend to be normal goods. This suggests that if incomes continue to increase, consumption will shift further from unprocessed to value added herring products.