http://orgprints.org/9806/ Consumers and consumption of organic food in Central and Eastern European new member states of the European Union Despite the significant growth of organic farms and organically managed land in Central and Eastern European new member states of the European Union (CEE NMS) the consumption of organic food in these countries remains at the very low level. The main barriers to organic food consumption growth are low availability of organic food in the sale channels where contemporary CEE NMS consumers prefer to buy food, high prices for organic products, related, inter alia, to high distribution costs and high gross margins that reflect the undeveloped nature of organic markets in CEE NMS. Further development of the organic sector in CEE NMS will contribute to the growth of organic food consumption by overcoming the supply-related barriers. Nevertheless, to increase the consumption of organic food, many efforts needed to communicate the benefits of organic food and farming to target potential consumers. Zakowska-Biemans, S. 5markets 7consumer eu-ceeofp int_conf_2007qlif_1_consumers Consumers and consumption of organic food in Central and Eastern European new member states of the European Union 2007-03-12 Zakowska-Biemans, S. (2007) Consumers and consumption of organic food in Central and Eastern European new member states of the European Union. 3rd QLIF Congress: Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems, University of Hohenheim, Germany, March 20-23, 2007. application/pdf