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Seoul YWCA
“Urgency to recover consumer confidence in quality of environment-friendly farm products”
- Low consumer awareness of quality certification system is revealed, even though widely consumed -
Consumer Information Center of Seoul YWCA (Chair Kim Suk-hui) conducted a consumer awareness survey of environment-friendly farm products. Environment-friendly farm products have become quite popular as more consumers look for healthy, clean food, free from chemicals, because of the social atmosphere of seeking wellbeing under the flood of imported foreign farm products, which endanger our food safety.
Consumer confidence should precede the development of environment-friendly farming through increased consumption of environment-friendly farm products. The survey reveals the consumers question about if the environment-friendly farm products are cultivated according to proper criteria and distributed through appropriate channels.
Thus, the survey intended to provide base data, required for enhancing consumer participation in the environment-friendly farming development. It identified the buying patterns, consumer perception of quality certification and problems that need to be resolved in order to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products, by surveying consumer awareness.
♠ Survey period: 15 November to 3 December 2004
♠ Survey targets and method:
The survey was conducted with over 700 women of 20 years or older residing in Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Anyang, Seongnam and Suwon. The interviewers personally visited the respondents and requested them to fill out the questionnaire themselves. 678 questionnaire sheets duly collected were used for analysis as some were not recollected or improperly replied.
♠ Survey questionnaire details
Survey questionnaire consisted of seven questions on the respondents’ living environment, 11 questions on their purchase status and perception of environment-friendly farm products, 10 questions on the quality certification system and certification mark, and one question on how to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products.
♠ Survey outcome
The survey outcome is summarized as follows:
First, consumption of environment-friendly farm products has become popular.
The survey indicates that consumption of environment-friendly farm products has become popular, as 66.7% replied that they have experiences in purchasing them. 86.6% of the respondents who replied they had no experience in their purchase said they would purchase if chances are given, meaning that the consumption of quality certified environment-friendly farm products will continue to grow.
Second, it was also revealed that the consumers’ descriptive parameters of age, income, education, occupation etc. have correlations with their perception and purchase experience.
The housewife consumers purchase environment-friendly farm products more frequently if they have higher income and belong to the age range of 30s to 40s. The career or working women have better perception of the quality certification and certification mark of environment-friendly farm products. When they purchase farm products, 40.5% consider the quality most important, safety (16.2%), origin (16.1%), price and taste, in that order. This consumer buying behavior is linked with their purchase experiences of quality-certified environment-friendly farm products.
Third, it was further revealed that 80.7% purchase environment-friendly vegetables and fruits most often for the health of their family.
Consumption of environment-friendly farm products continues to grow as more consumers demand for safe food, as they become more aware of food’s impact on their family health while the society is full of distrust of various food items. It is believed the consumers purchase environment-friendly vegetables and fruits the most as they are more concerned about the dangers of pesticides or chemical fertilizers remaining in the vegetables and fruits, who are consumed raw.
Fourth, in order to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products, it is most urgent to lower product prices and to recover the reliability of quality certification.
Of the reasons why the consumers do not buy environment-friendly farm products, 51.9% replied they do not because they are too expensive, while 24.3% replied they are not reliable. In order to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products, it is believed that it is most urgent to lower product prices by resolving distribution channel problems by increasing the channels and to recover the reliability of quality certification. Public relations and policy backup of the quality certification is believed to be necessary to enhance its reliability.
Fifth, they purchase environment-friendly farm products the most at large discount stores (44.7%), because those store are the places where they buy their life necessities (28.3%) and are the most reliable (24.7%).
In other words, most consumers (44.7%) purchase environment-friendly farm products at large discount stores where they buy their other life necessities. They also purchase environment-friendly farm products at such diverse stores as Agriculture Cooperative stores (18.9%), organic farm produce stores (11.1%), and direct stores (8.7%). Compared with the previous days, consumers more easily purchase environment-friendly farm products as diverse distribution channels have been formed.
Sixth, a rather low consumer perception was revealed in the survey of the consumer perception of the quality certification system of environment-friendly farm products: 6.8% are totally unaware of it, 43.6% don’t know it well and 45.3% replied they haven’t seen it. It was further revealed that the consumers’ perception of transition period farm products was the lowest, compared to organic, no-pesticide and low pesticide farm products.
The consumers are not properly aware of the quality certification or marking systems. Accurate information of the quality certification system should be provided to the consumers so that they may distinguish environment-friendly farm products by removing any room for confusion.
Seventh, the consumers have low confidence in the quality certification system, as 49.3% replied that they do not trust the quality certification system for environment-friendly farm products.
In order to give the consumers reliability in environment-friendly farm products, the government should apply strict quality criteria to environment-friendly farm products, and should maintain a thorough advance control so that substandard products may not be sold in the market. The systematic criteria should also be prepared on the quality warranty system of environment-friendly farm products.
Eighth, the top ranking method to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products was ‘lower their selling price,’ while the second highest ranking method was ‘recover reliability of quality certification’ and the third highest ranking method was ‘thorough control and certification system implemented by the government.’
It is proposed that the government should perform a more responsible administration toward the citizens’ safe food life, through an enhanced interest in and systematic support to environment-friendly farm products.
Based on the results of the survey, we would like to propose the following:
1. Enhanced publicity and accurate information be provided about the quality certification and marking system of environment-friendly farm products.
The quality certification and marking system of environment-friendly farm products should enable the consumers to select high quality, safe farm products by delivering their information with the Q-mark only. The government should strengthen public relations so that the consumers may more easily access the quality information of environment-friendly farm products, though their own promotion is also important.
2. Recovery of consumer confidence in quality certification and marking system of environment-friendly farm products
The consumers question whether the Q-mark granted farm products abide by the criteria for environment-friendly cultivation or are distributed through proper supply channels. To let the consumers trust environment-friendly farm products, the producers should change first to have pride in their own environment-friendly farming. In addition, systematic criteria should be prepared for the quality warranty system for environment-friendly farm products, while the government should apply strict quality criteria to environment-friendly farm products and maintain a thorough advance control, so that substandard products may not be sold in the market.
3. Lowered price and development of large volume customers to promote consumption of environment-friendly farm products
It is the most urgent task to lower the price and develop large volume customers to make environment-friendly farm products popular. Efforts should be made to reduce the production costs and distribution margin. Large volume customers may be developed by using environment-friendly farm products for mass meal services at schools or other organizations.
▶ Information: Secretary Choi Eun-ju, Consumer Environment Department (Phone 3705-6065)
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