SLOVAK CUSTUMERS DEMAND FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS AND MILK: ANALYSIS OF PRICE AND INCOME RELATIONS.

The aim of the paper was the quantitative analysis of the determinants of demand and the level of consumption of milk and dairy products in relation to consumer prices of dairy products and disposable income in terms of consumer segment of households with dependent children. Current economic conditions in Slovakia contribute to the differentiation of the behavior of individual households on consumer market. It is noticeable mainly in families with several dependent children, where in 2012 the real money income of households with three or more dependent children was amounted to only 54.65% of the real income compared with incomes of families without dependent children and 66.21% of the income of families with one dependent child. In Slovak households the consumption of milk decreases in general and since 1998 has decreased overall by 13.3 liters and in 2012 reached the level 50.61 liters per person in families without dependent children and 45.58 liters in families with three or more dependent children. The demand for milk did not develop according to theoretical assumptions. Increase in price did not cause decrease in demand excluding the families with one dependent child. Based on indirect (cross) price elasticity can be expressed that demand was elastic and was substituted in the families without children (Eqi, P2 = 1.062) and in the households with three or more dependent children (Eqi, P2 = 2.373) by other milk products. Consumer demand for cheese and yoghurt fulfilled complementary (additional) function of nutrition (Eqi, P3= -2.468 to -0.249). Noticeable complementarity showed demand for yogurt in families with three or more dependent children (Eqi, p4 = -3.644), and families without dependent children (Eqi, p4 = -2.27). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]