Consumer Preferences, Perceived Benefits, and Determinants of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Urban Kumasi, Ghana

This study examined fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption patterns within the context of Ghana's transforming food systems, driven by urbanization, economic growth, and evolving consumer preferences. Primary data was sourced from 150 respondents across low-, middle-, and high-income communities in urban Kumasi. Descriptive statistics, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, and Negative Binomial Regression were employed to analyze the data. The results showed that consumers prioritized intrinsic attributes (taste, freshness, and appearance), extrinsic attributes (price and nutritional value), and environmental-related attributes (organic and the presence of pesticides). Though the majority of respondents have a positive perception of the health and nutritional benefits of FV consumption, the actual daily intake is still abysmally low, demonstrating the gap between knowledge and practice. Factors that significantly influence FV consumption are the number of dependents, accessibility, social and cultural influences, distance to markets, and nutrition knowledge. Surprisingly, refrigerator ownership and shared household decision-making were negatively associated with vegetable intake, possibly reflecting behavioral substitutions for non-perishable produce. These findings show that behavioral and contextual factors, rather than economic attributes, serve as the primary determinants of urban dietary behavior. This paper recommends key stakeholders to pursue awareness campaigns for consumers to incorporate FV as part of daily dietary habits as part of overall wellbeing. In addition, the main agents across the urban FV supply chain (informal vendors and retailers) should be encouraged to capitalize on consumers' preference for sensory qualities such as taste, appearance, freshness, price, nutrition, organics, and seasonality, to meet demands and boost consumption.