Abstract
Organic agriculture production in Tunisia is relatively recent and was mainly oriented to the export market. However, local market demand is growing for such products. The objective of the current study is to assess consumers’ awareness and consumption of organic food products. A survey was implemented and included 250 respondents from the capital city Tunis. We used descriptive statistics, factor and cluster analysis to analyze the data. The results indicated that respondents’ perceptions towards organic food are positive. Four groups of consumers were identified with respondents from the main three groups have good understanding about organic food products characteristics. However, the proportion of consumers who purchase organic food on a regular basis is quite low (16%). Improving availability and access to organic products through the integration in mainstream sales channels and lower price premiums will help narrowing the gap between the intention to purchase organic products and the actual purchase. Nadhem Mtimet, Asma Souissi, Neama Mhamdi
Highlights
From the last decades, consumers are paying more attention to the food they eat
Consumers are paying more attention to the food they eat. They are interested in a diverse variety of foods with better taste and nutrition quality, but they are increasingly concerned with issues related to food safety, human health, animal welfare (Harper and Makatouni, 2002), conventional agricultural practices and environmental sustainability (Wandel and Bugge, 1997)
Unlike other statistical methods for classification, such as discriminant analysis and automatic interaction detection, Cluster analysis makes no prior assumptions about important differences within a population
Summary
Consumers are paying more attention to the food they eat. They are interested in a diverse variety of foods with better taste and nutrition quality, but they are increasingly concerned with issues related to food safety, human health, animal welfare (Harper and Makatouni, 2002), conventional agricultural practices and environmental sustainability (Wandel and Bugge, 1997). Over the years, consumers have realized that their purchasing and consumption behaviors have a direct impact on many ecological and environmental problems (Laroche et al, 1996). As a result of this change in consumer’s attitudes and behavior, interest in organically produced food is increasing throughout the world. Organic agricultural land has increased six-fold since 1999 (Willer and Lernoud, 2019)
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