Consumers’ Attitude and Intention towards Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Empirical Study on Romanian Consumers

Abstract

Organic farming is one of the fastest growing sectors, both in developed and developing countries. Although Romania is in sixth place at the level of the European Union in terms of agricultural area, the share of ecologically certified areas is low. The fruits and vegetables sector is the most important for the agri-food production in Romania, accounting for 58% of the total cultivated area. In recent years, there is a tendency for consumers to focus on healthy diets with safe, high quality foods and high nutritional compounds from unpolluted areas. However, the Romanian market of organic fruits and vegetables is still underdeveloped due to the small number of consumers of organic products. The future of organic farming is largely dependent on attitude and consumer demand. The purpose of this paper is to study the attitudes and intentions of Romanian consumers towards the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables through direct research among 268 individuals. The results show that the attitudes of individuals towards the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables is directly and positively influenced by the information that individuals have about the characteristics of organic products, their personal needs and motivations, but also by external influences, and the purchase barriers do not represent elements with a strong enough influence on the attitude and intention.

Consumer Behaviour and Attitude towards the Purchase of Organic Products in Riobamba, Ecuador

“…Consumer purchase motivation is a multidimensional construct with cognitive, affective, and moral elements. In the context of motivation linked to attitude about and purchase of organic products, literature is scarce; however, there are important contributions that establish that the purchase motivation of agricultural products influences the attitude, and this determines the purchase and consumption of products [ 62 ]. In this line, they also agree that motivation is the main decision-maker that has an effect on the consumer’s attitude towards access to essential products, including agricultural, livestock, and meat products.…”

“…When the attitude of consumers is positive towards a product, they will recommend its consumption; on the contrary, if their attitude is negative, they will refrain from consuming the product [ 61 ]. The attitude of the buyers is based on perceptions that will define the product purchase process and has a psychological tendency that affects the choice of an organic product [ 62 ], during which the behavior changes according to the psychological and emotional state of the consumer. A product maybe valued favourably or unfavourably based on the stereotypes held by the consumers.…”

“…Meanwhile, motivation is a combination of the actions behind the purchase behaviour [ 57 ]. There are approaches that allow it to be determined as the relational vision that focuses on the interactions of organic producers with the market [ 62 , 64 ].…”

“…Consequently, organic production is based on good practices, encourages the consumption of healthy foods, and promotes a better quality of life [ 53 ]. Additionally, the organic food market has actors in the role of both producers and consumers, where an effective increase in the sale and consumption of organic products is sought through the generation of awareness in the health care of the population [ 62 ].…”

Understanding the purchase intentions for organic vegetables across EU: a proposal to extend the TPB model

“…The most expanding sector is agricultural production; the total organic area in the EU grew by 4.3 million hectares between 2012 and 2019, an increase by almost half (45.9%). Fresh vegetables are among the most important arable crops: in 2019, about one-tenth (9.7%) of the area used for fresh vegetable production in the EU was managed organically (Eurostat, 2021; Radulescu et al. , 2021).…”