Factors Affecting Consumers’ Organic Agricultural Products Preferences in Turkey

Abstract

This study was conducted with consumers consuming and not consuming organic products in six regions in Turkey classified in terms of development levels according to socio-economic development index values. The aims of the study were to compare the socio-economic aspects of consumers and to reveal the factors affecting the organic product purchasing behaviors of consumers. In the research, a survey was conducted with a total of 1494 consumers in 32 provinces, who consumed and did not consume organic products. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting consumers' tendency to consume organic products. It was determined that consumers who consumed organic products were slightly younger than consumers who did not, and their monthly food expenditures were higher. It was determined that the education level of consumers who consumed organic products was higher. In addition, it was determined that the non-working and retired occupational groups were more dominant in the consumer group that did not consume organic products. According to the results, it was determined that the gender of the consumers, the education period, the presence of children in their households, the person doing the food shopping in the household, the monthly food expenditures and the organic product consumption of the region they lived in affected the organic product consumption status positively.