Consumers
Knowledge of consumer behaviour including purchasing practices and perceptions of organic goods ranging from commodities to branded food and fibre products is needed within the context of developing countries and the global market. Curiously enough, the financial crisis has not led to a decrease in global retail of organic products. The full potential for organic in the marketplace will not be realized without understanding the interest in demand (e.g. willingness to pay and market studies) and barriers (e.g. challenges in sourcing organic foods locally) to supplying consumers with organic food. In addition, it is important to understand how consumers perceive quality attributes of organic foods such as nutritional value, food safety and its adherence to standards that align with their expectations.
At this time, many different institutions are conducting research on organic consumers. In April 2009, the EU-coordinated QualityLowInputFood (QLIF) integrated project held their final congress. For the past several years, QLIF has provided a platform upon which to expand research in this area.
More information
Institutions
- FAO.org/OrganicAG: Institutions that undertake research relevant to the topic of consumers in the ORCA database at FAO's organic farming pages
Publications
- OrgPrints.org: Literature related to consumers/consumer studies
- OrgPrints.org: Publications of the QLIF project on consumer expectations and attitudes