Deliverable 1.3.(a): Conference paper: Consumer evaluation of imported organic food products in emerging economies in Asia

Summary

Consumers in emerging economies such as Thailand and China have started to demand organic food products – mainly due to food safety reasons (Ortega, Wang, Wu, & Hong, 2015; Roitner-Schobesberger, Darnhofer, Somsook, & Vogl, 2008; C. L. Wang, Li, Barnes, & Ahn, 2012; O. Wang, De Steur, Gellynck, & Verbeke, 2015). Since the domestic organic markets are still not well-established in Thailand and China, there is a huge potential for export of organic food products to these markets from countries, where the organic markets are more established and able to provide consumers with safe products. However, little is known about consumer preferences for imported organic food in emerging economies in Asia.
A total of 139 in-store interviews were conducted in China (70 in March 2016 and 69 in March 2017). In Thailand, 81 in-store interviews were conducted in August 2016. Also, two focus groups were conducted with consumers in Bangkok, Thailand, and Guangzhou, China, respectively, in August 2016. The aim with this triangulation was to enhance the validity of the findings and reduce inherent method bias.
Thai and Chinese consumers perceived products’ country-of-origin as important, but price, brands and familiarity with the product also influenced their decision. Country-of-origin was especially considered when evaluating the quality and safety of the products. In Thailand, trust in the certification was the major reason for choosing imported products from especially New Zealand, Japan and Australia. Food safety and quality control were also important motives. That was also the case in China - however, choosing imported food was often a consequence in low levels of trust in domestic certification. Environmental awareness (pesticides, transport distances) also played a role for Chinese consumers.
The results imply that there is a growing awareness among Chinese and Thai consumers towards organic products – especially the imported ones, since these are associated with food safety and quality control in both countries. The study also provides evidence of the array of variables influencing consumer preferences for foreign COOs. These findings expand the scarce research on COO effects in the context of organic food.