Consumers’ Attitudes towards Organic Products and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Romania

Camelia F. Oroian, Calin O. Safirescu, Rezhen Harun, Gabriela O. Chiciudean, Felix H. Arion, Iulia C. Muresan and Bianca M. Bordeanu
Additional contact information
Camelia F. Oroian: Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Calin O. Safirescu: Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Rezhen Harun: Department of Agribusiness and Rural Development, College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Regional Government-Iraq, Sulaimani-Bakrajo-Awal 5100, Iraq
Gabriela O. Chiciudean: Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Felix H. Arion: Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Iulia C. Muresan: Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Bianca M. Bordeanu: Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Organic food consumption has increased during the last years as a consequence of its direct impact on consumer health, life style, and social convenience as well as on the environment and sustainable development. Compared to the European level, the consumption of organic food products is quite low in Romania. This paper investigates the perception and attitudes of the organic food consumers from the North-West Development Region of Romania. Consumers’ perception towards organic food products was measured using 30 items. The data were collected from 568 respondents and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A factor-cluster approach was used to identify consumer groups. The findings indicated that health concerns, sensory appeal, sustainable consumption and weight concerns are the main reasons for consuming organic food products. Three main groups of organic food consumers were identified: “gourmand”, “environmentally concerned” and “health concerned”.

Keywords: food value chain; organic food products; consumer behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:9:p:1559-:d:110991

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