Prices and Markups 



More than three -fovirths of the wholesaler respondents adhered 

 to a specific price and markup policy. Of those who had a policy apply- 

 ing to all fish and shellfish the proportion (80.8 percent) who used 

 constant markups was over five times larger than the proportion who used 

 different markups for each product. In a few instances, wholesalers al- 

 lowed discounts on a quality or on a quantity basis or to certain classes 

 of customers. 



Two out of five wholesalers indicated that they changed prices 

 of shrimp products more often than prices of other fish and shellfish 

 products. Supply factors affecting costs were responsible. 



Product Preference and Product Competition 



Over 71 percent of the secondary wholesalers interviewed 

 thought that the characteristics of the product and package had an 

 effect on the sale of shrimp. This attitude is at variance with that 

 of the retailers who, for the most part, were not convinced that the 

 effect on sales was significant. The product characteristics considered 

 in this connection, in order of importance, were: size, color, taste 

 and freshness of shrimp, amount of breading, kind of package, package 

 size, and ease of preparation. 



A ranking of wholesaler customer preferences for shrimp products 

 indicates that packaged frozen headless shrimp by far outsells any other 

 product at this level (see table VI - 3). The indication of customer 

 preference in this instance, seems more pronounced than in the case of 

 ultimate consumers, as shown by a similar ranking of consumer preference 

 made by retailers (see table VI - ll). Ranked next after packaged 

 frozen headless shrimp by the wholesalers were frozen uncooked breaded, 

 frozen cooked breaded, and fresh shrimp. 



Promotion and Consumer Demand 



About one out of every four wholesalers put more effort into 

 the promotion of fish and other shellfish products than into the promo- 

 tion of shrimp. Products promoted more actively, in the first order, 

 were fish sticks, tuna pies, and fillets. Types of promotion most popular 

 with the wholesale trade were through emphasis on brand names, newspaper 

 advertisements, allowances granted, leaflets, radio and television 

 commercials. The benefits to be derived from advertising of shrimp 

 products, whether on a local or national basis, were almost unanimously 

 acknowledged by the wholesalers. 



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