Consumer preferences on milk market: evidence from Slovak Republic

Today the issue of healthy nutrition is very popular among consumers. The main task of nutrition is to ensure sufficient intake of substances that are necessary for the proper functioning of the human organism. These substances are divided into two types: sugars, fats and proteins, which are the source of energy and minerals, vitamins and water, which are substances necessary for metabolic processes. We distinguish five main food categories, from which people can obtain these necessary substances: cereals, fruits, vegetables, proteins and last but not least milk. Milk is a white liquid secreted by female mammals for feeding, and which is used (mainly from cows) as human food. Milk is sometimes even called a "super-food", as it contains all the necessary ingredients mentioned above. Its most important component is calcium, which is a key building block of bones and teeth. Milk sugar called lactose, in turn, is involved in the construction of brain cells. Among other things, the milk also contains 87% of water, making it suitable for maintaining a daily drinking regime, unfortunately its consumption is in Slovak Republic insufficient, so the main objective of this paper was to evaluate consumer preferences on the milk market to understand our consumers better. Based on the results od marketing and neuromarketing research we can state that 76.98% of respondents puchase milk, milk expenses range from 11 to 20 € (42.06%), it is purchased mainly in hypermarkets and supermarkets (36.71%), admissible price per liter is on average 0.89 € and decide according to milk quality taste and durability.

Analysis of development of raw cow milk prices in the conditions of the Slovak Republic

The paper is focused on the evaluation of the price development of raw cow milk in the Slovak Republic. The aim of the paper is to analyse the development of average prices of the raw Q class cow´s milk in 2006 – 2018 and to forecast the trend of these prices by June 2019. Monthly data from the Market Report of Milk and Dairy Products issued by the Agricultural Information Department – ATIS, as part of the Agricultural Paying Agency, were the base of our information resource. These data were analyzed by using the statistical software called SAS. Box-Jenkins methodology was used to model the future trend of average purchase prices of the raw Q class cow´s milk, designed for modeling stationary and non-stationary time series and time series with seasonal components. During the period of 2006 – 2018 the Slovak dairy market showed significant changes in the prices of raw Q class cow´s milk. Three crisis periods of the dairy sector have been identified, during which the milk price has fallen below 0.30 € per kilogram. Long-term low prices of raw cow milk led to the liquidation of primary milk producers. In the next forecast period, by February 2019 a moderate increase in the average purchase price of rawQ class cow´s milk is expected, followed by a decrease by June 2019.