Tunisian consumers perception and behavior towards organic food products

Mtimet, N., Souissi, A. and Mhamdi, N. 2020. Tunisian consumers perception and behavior towards organic food products. New Medit 19(1):3–18.

Organic agriculture production in Tunisia is relatively recent and was mainly oriented to the export market. However, local market demand is growing for such products. The objective of the current study is to assess consumers’ awareness and consumption of organic food products. A survey was implemented and included 250 respondents from the capital city Tunis. We used descriptive statistics, factor and cluster analysis to analyze the data. The results indicated that respondents’ perceptions towards organic food are positive. Four groups of consumers were identified with respondents from the main three groups have good understanding about organic food products characteristics. However, the proportion of consumers who purchase organic food on a regular basis is quite low (16%). Improving availability and access to organic products through the integration in mainstream sales channels and lower price premiums will help narrowing the gap between the intention to purchase organic products and the actual purchase. Nadhem Mtimet, Asma Souissi, Neama Mhamdi