Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

General View Point, Perception and Acceptance of Organic Food Products Among Urban Consumers in the Thai Marketplace

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sustainable Food Security in the Era of Local and Global Environmental Change

Abstract

This study aims to determine consumer knowledge about organic foods and the reasons why buyers patronize or reject organic food products in Bangkok. It also relates such consumption patterns with the consumers’ understanding and points of view towards organic food as well as their demographic and socio-economic profiles. Data were collected from 130 randomly selected organic food consumers in a huge Bangkok supermarket using semi-structured questionnaires. Results showed that more than half of the respondents have purchased organic fruits, rice and vegetables in the past. The key reasons given for these purchases include expectations of healthier lifestyle and long-term contribution towards a more sustainable environment. Results have shown that surveyed organic consumers tend to have higher educational and family income levels, bigger family size and older than those who have never bought any organic products. The primary obstacles cited in the purchase of organic products include persistent confusion in interpreting organic food labels and the general lack of organic product information.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aertsens, J., Mondelaers, K., & Van Huylenbroeck, G. (2009). Differences in retail strategies on the emerging organic market. British Food Journal, 111(2–3), 138–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltzer, K. (2003, September 4–6). Estimating willingness to pay for food quality and safety from actual consumer behavior. Paper presented at the 83rd EAAE Seminar, Chania.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartels, J., & Rienders, M. (2010). Social identification, social representations, and consumer innovativeness in an organic food context: A cross-national comparison. Food Quality and Preference, 21, 347–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battle, T. E., Arbiser, J., & Frank, D. A. (2005). The natural product honokiol induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BCLL)cells. Blood, 106, 690–697.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Briz, T., & Ward, R. W. (2009). Consumer awareness of organic products in Spain: An application of multinomial logit models. Food Policy, 34, 295–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, C., & Sperow, M. (2005). Examining the cost of an all-organic diet. Journal of Food Distribution Research, 36, 20–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, P. J., Bacon, J. R., & Toensmeyer, U. C. (1994). Pesticide residue concerns and shopping location likelihood. Agribusiness, 10, 491–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, S. H., & Zepeda, L. (2005). Demand for organic food: Focus group discussion in Armidale. Agricultural Resource Economics, 6, 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, M. F. (2007). Consumers attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic foods in Taiwan: Moderating effects of food-related personality traits. Food Quality and Preference, 18, 1008–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chouichom, S., & Yamao, M. (2010). Comparing opinions and attitudes of organic and non-organic farmers towards organic rice farming system in northeastern Thailand. Journal of Organic Systems, 5(1), 25–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corsi, A., & Novelli, S. (2003, August 28–31). Consumers’ willingness to pay a price for organic beef meat. Paper presented at the 10th EAAE Congress, Zaragoza.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffort, M. M. (2006). Minimising the impact? The meanings of organic food. Accessed from: http://www.atmq77.dsl.pipex.com/

  • Ebrahimi, M. (2007). Global appetite for organic drives organic market. Retrieved December 5 2010, from http://persianoad.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/globalappetite-for-organic-drives-organic-market/

  • Fillion, L., & Arazi, S. (2002). Does organic food taste better? A claim substantiation approach. Nutrition and Food Science, 32, 153–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghorbani, M., & Hamraz, S. (2009). A study on factors affecting on consumer’s potential willingness to pay for organic products in Iran (a case study). Trends in Agriculture Economics, 2, 10–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grankvist, G., & Biel, A. (2001). The importance of beliefs and purchase criteria in the choice of eco-labeled food products. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 405–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramol, P., Thong-ngam, K., Gypmantasiri, P., & Davies, W. (2006). Challenges in developing pesticide-free and organic vegetable markets and farming systems for smallholder farmers in North Thailand. Acta Horticulturae, 699, 243–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linder, N. S., Uhl, G., Fliessbach, K., Trautner, P., Elger, C. E., & Weber, B. (2010). Organic labeling influences food valuation and choice. NeuroImage, 53, 215–220.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Makatouni, A. (2002). What motivates consumers to buy organic food in the UK? British Food Journal, 104, 345–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, S. (2003). Why organic food in Germany is a merit good? Food Policy, 28, 459–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, D. W., & Bell, R. (2004). Relating the food involvement scale to demographic variables, food choice and other constructs. Food Quality and Preference, 15, 971–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCoy, S. (2002). Organic agriculture-introduction (Replaces Farmnote 21). South Perth: Department of Food and Agriculture.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEachern, M., & McClean, P. (2002). Organic purchasing motivations and attitudes: Are they ethical? International Journal of Consumer Studies, 26, 85–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, S., & Frewer, L. J. (2001). Investigating specific concerns about different food hazards. Food Quality and Preference, 12, 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mondelaers, K., Verbeke, W., & Van Huylenbroeck, G. (2008). Importance of health and environment as quality traits in the buying decision of organic product. Proceedings of the First Workshop on valuation methods in agro-food and environmental economics, Barcelona.

    Google Scholar 

  • Napolitano, F., Braghieri, A., Piasentier, E., Favotto, S., Naspetti, S., & Zanoli, R. (2010). Effect of information about organic production on beef liking and consumer willingness to pay. Food Quality and Preference, 21, 207–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naspetti, S., & Zanoli, R. (2002). Consumer motivations in the purchase of organic food: A means-end approach. British Food Journal, 104, 643–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OAE. (2008). Fertilizer import and utilization. Bangkok: Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, D. (2001). How to increase organic food sales: results from research based on market segmentation and product attributes. Australian Agribusiness Review, 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • PĂ©nau, S., Hoehn, E., Roth, H. R., Escher, F., & Nuessli, J. (2006). Importance and consumer perception of freshness of apples. Food Quality and Preference, 17, 9–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pieniak, Z., Aertsen, J., & Verbeke, W. (2010). Subjective and objective knowledge as determinants of organic vegetable consumption. Food Quality and Preference, 21, 581–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulston, J., & Yiu, A. Y. K. (2011). Profit or principles: Why do restaurants serve organic food? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30, 184–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roitner-Schobesberger, B., Darnhofer, I., Somsook, S., & Vogl, C. R. (2008). Consumer perception of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand. Food Policy, 33, 112–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakagami, M., Sato, M., & Ueta, K. (2006). Measuring consumer preferences regarding organic labeling and the JAS label in particular. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 49, 247–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salleh, M. M., Ali, S. M., Harun, E. H., Jalil, M. A., & Shaharudin, M. R. (2010). Consumer’s perception and purchase intentions towards organic food products: Exploring attitude among academicians. Canadian Social Science, 6(6), 119–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schifferstien, H. N. J., & Oude Ophuis, P. A. M. (1998). Health-related determinants of organic food consumption in the Netherlands. Food Quality and Preference, 9, 119–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheng, J., Shem, L., Qiao, Y., Yu, M., & Fan, B. (2009). Market trends and accreditation systems for organic food in China. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 20, 396–401.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stolz, H., Stolze, M., Hamm, U., Janssen, M., & Ruto, E. (2010). Consumer attitudes towards organic versus conventional food with specific quality attributes. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 58, 67–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeir, I., & Verbeke, W. (2008). Sustainable food consumption among young adults in Belgium: Theory of planned behavior and the role of confidence and values. Ecological Economics, 64, 542–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, S. A. (2008). The barriers to further adoption of organic farming and genetic engineering in Australia: Views of agricultural professionals and their information sources. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 23, 161–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, J. L., & Hillers, V. N. (1994). Influence of pesticide residue and environmental concerns on organic foods preference among food cooperative members and non-members in Washington State. Journal of Nutrition Education, 26, 26–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willer, H., Yussefi-Menzler, M., & Sorensen, N. (2008). The world of organic agriculture: Statistics and emerging trends. Bonn: International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.

    Google Scholar 

  • William, P. R. D., & Hammit, J. K. (2001). Perceived risks of conventional and organic produce: Pesticides, pathogens, and natural toxins. Risk Analysis, 21, 319–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X. (2005). Chinese consumers’ concerns about food safety: Case of Tianjin. Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, 17, 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, X., Chambers, E., Matta, Z., Loughin, T., & Carey, E. (2007). Consumer sensory analysis of organically and conventionally grown vegetables. Journal of Food Science, 72, 87–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to express their deepest thanks and appreciation to all the interviewees who participated in this research. We would also like to express our gratitude to the researchers of the Training Department, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) and the university students of the Department of Cooperatives, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University (KU), Bangkok, Thailand for their support in data collection. Special thanks go to the Thai Royal Government for supporting the scholarship of the first author that enabled him to conduct this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioresource Science, Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739 8528, Japan

    Seksak Chouichom

  2. Marketing Division, Technology and Innovation, Management Department, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR), 35 Mu 3, Technopolis, Tambon Khlong Ha, Amphoe Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Seksak Chouichom

  3. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739 8528, Japan

    Lawrence M. Liao & Masahiro Yamao

Authors
  1. Seksak Chouichom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lawrence M. Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masahiro Yamao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seksak Chouichom .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences, Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, Hay Salam, Agadir, Morocco

    Mohamed Behnassi

  2. SCENSO GbR - Scientific Env. Solutions, SchĂĽtzeiche 4, Sankt Augustin, 53757, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Olaf Pollmann

  3. Lexeme Consulting, West 8th Avenue 3552, Vancouver, V6R 1Y7, British Columbia, Canada

    Gabrielle Kissinger

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chouichom, S., Liao, L.M., Yamao, M. (2013). General View Point, Perception and Acceptance of Organic Food Products Among Urban Consumers in the Thai Marketplace. In: Behnassi, M., Pollmann, O., Kissinger, G. (eds) Sustainable Food Security in the Era of Local and Global Environmental Change. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6719-5_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation