Preferences of Ugandan consumers for rice varieties and brands on the local market

Abstract

The demand for rice Oryza sativa in Uganda has exceeded local supply resulting into importation of several other rice varieties and brands to meet the deficit. Lack of information on consumer preferences hinders decision-making to invest in the rice sub sector. This study seeks to provide information on consumer preferences of most rice brands and varieties on the local market. A consumer survey and sensory analysis were undertaken in the study. The rice consumers’ survey was conducted among 475 households from 8 selected rice growing districts in Uganda using a structured questionnaire to establish culinary attributes of rice preferred. Sensory analysis was conducted by a 25-person controlled sensory panel that evaluated 17 boiled varieties and brands of rice using a hedonic scale of 1-7, to rank basic culinary attributes. Consumers’ survey revealed that 27 % of households consumed rice among the starchy food types. The consumption of local and imported rice varieties and brands was 77.4 % and 22.6 % respectively. Preference for local rice varieties and/or brands was influenced by affordability (63.4 %) and good aroma and freshness (47 %). Imported rice was appreciated for being full grain (82 %) and stone-free (82.7%). The consumer survey further showed that preference for local rice varieties was in order of importance as “Supa” (77.8 %), Kaiso (10.7 %) and NERICA lines (6.5 %). Sensory evaluation to obtain the mean sensory score (parentheses), indicated that the most preferred local rice variety was NERICA 10 (5.56) while the least preferred variety was NERICA 1 (3.44). Overall, the Tilda and imported rice varieties and brands were more acceptable than the local varieties on account of cleanliness although Supa also scored highly due to its aroma.