CONSUMERS' PREFERENCES FOR PLACES TO PURCHASE LOCAL DAIRY PRODUCTS

Production and distribution of local food contributes to responds to the needs of consumers in terms of desire to support the local economies and responsibility for the environment. In local food resources, food production and processing, trading this food and its consumption occur in a relatively small geographical area. Benefits resulting from the functioning of local food systems are not only related to satisfying food demand, but also bringing specific social benefits. They allow to maintain the vitality of rural areas, especially in peripheral locations. In addition, locally produced food is not anonymous, it is also characterised by higher quality than mass-produced food. The purpose of the work is to identify the determinants and preferences of consumers regarding the places of purchase of local dairy products. The study was carried-out in 2019 using an interview questionnaire on a randomly selected group of respondents. The survey involved 308 respondents from the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, of which 298 consumed dairy products, and 255 respondents bought local dairy products (85.6% of respondents consuming dairy products). It was discovered the interest in buying local dairy products is quite high - 85.6% of respondents consuming dairy products bought them. A significant percentage of respondents (91.4%) indicated the availability of local dairy products in retail trade. Whereby, in the case of units located near the place of residence, 7.5% of respondents faced significant restrictions on access to these products, while 33.7% pointed to frequent shortages in the product range. This indicates the need to improve the flow of these products in distribution channels.