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Abstract
Demand for pecans has been stagnant over that last seven years, leading pecan producers to look for new ways of increasing demand. With new storage techniques it may be possible to produce snack products of pecans similar to that of peanuts. A national survey of 913 people was performed in order to obtain data on the demographics and buying habits of pecans consumers. A Tobit model was used to analyze the survey data to determine the mean Willingness to Pay for a pecan snack product. The mean willingness to pay was estimated to be $0.89 for a snack size bag of pecans. In addition, the average pecan consumer does not purchase pecans very often, fewer than three times a year, with most purchasing one pound bags of halves. Almost eight percent of pecan consumers surveyed indicated that they had had a problem with rancidity in pecans.