Does Italian origin really determine a price premium for fluid milk? Evidences from a hedonic price analysis

The regulation 1169/2011, which aims to protect the consumers in relation to food information, stresses the fact that the country of origin is become a key attribute for consumers in their purchasing decision. In 2014, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, with the Decree of 9 December 2016 â' based on art. 26 of Reg. 1169/2011-introduced the obligation of labelling the country origin of milk used in all dairy products and therefore for the first time for uht milk. In this context, the aim of the study is to evaluate the price premium of different quality attributes on uht milk sold in Italy, with particular regard to the country of origin of milk. From the analysis, it emerges that Italian origin of milk has a significant and positive effect on price, together with the type of retailer (i.e. hypermarket), notorious brands, plastic packaging, high and middle placement on the shelves, organic attribute and the enrichment with omega 3, phosphorus or fibre.