Assessing Markets for Central American Products in U.S. Ethnic Communities (The Common Beans Case)

At the end of 2003. the U S Census Bureau estimated that around 2.7 million people in the U.S. were of Central American origin. While this community represents a potential market for Central American exports, no study had previously been carried out to describe the ethnic markets for Central American products in the U.S. This paper describes the findings from research conducted in 2003. Which suggests that people of Central American origin prefer to buy beans from their country of origin and are willing to pay a premium price for these beans. Also described in the paper is information to be used in future research for assessing the demand for food products from Latin America in U.S. ethnic communities.