Consumer Willingness to Pay for Animal Welfare Labels on Chicken Eggs: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in Indonesia Nabila Callista (a), Jaisy Aghniarahim Putritamara (a*)
a) Faculty Of Animal Science and Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Jalan Veteran No 1, Malang 65415, East Java, Indonesia
Abstract
Animal welfare has become an increasingly important credence attribute in global egg markets, yet empirical evidence on consumer valuation remains concentrated in developed countries. Indonesia is one of Southeast Asia^s largest egg producers and consumers, but most laying hens are still kept in conventional battery cages, and existing research has focused mainly on producers^ perspectives. This study aims to (1) assess consumer awareness of and trust in animal welfare-related labels, (2) examine consumer preferences for housing system, packaging label, and price attributes, (3) estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for improved housing systems and welfare labels, and (4) analyse how socioeconomic characteristics influence WTP. Primary data are collected through an online survey of 100 purposively selected egg consumers living mainly in major Indonesian cities, including Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Malang, and Denpasar. A discrete choice experiment with nine choice sets, each containing three unlabelled egg alternatives and an opt-out option, yields 900 choice observations. Products are described by a four-tier housing system (battery cage, cage-free, free-range, and organic), a packaging label (^Animal Welfare Care^, ^Organic^, or no label), and price (IDR 28,000-65,000 per kg). Label awareness and trust are analysed descriptively, and preferences are estimated using a multinomial logit model. Marginal WTP is derived as the negative ratio of each attribute coefficient to the price coefficient, with delta-method confidence intervals. Interaction terms between attributes and respondent characteristics capture preference heterogeneity. The findings are expected to show what price premiums Indonesian urban consumers are willing to pay for higher-welfare eggs. This evidence can inform producers^ investment decisions on cage-free and free-range systems and support the design of credible egg labelling and certification schemes in developing-country markets.
Keywords: animal welfare, discrete choice experiment, willingness to pay, laying hen housing system, food labelling, Indonesia
