Consumer Preference of Organic Vegetables in the Coimbatore City of Tamil Nadu: An Application of Logistic Regression Model

The organic food industry in India remains export oriented. Though the production is growing rapidly, yet the domestic market still remains relatively small. The information on consumer preferences for organically grown fresh vegetables could be expected to provide perspectives on increasing organic domestic consumption. Thereby, an attempt has been made to investigate the factors influencing the consumer preference to purchase organic vegetables in the Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu. Results indicated that consumers with high income, higher education and relatively older in age prefer to purchase organic vegetables. Logistic regression analysis revealed that age; education; health awareness levels; and income of the consumers along with price of the produce; distance of the market and availability of the produce are important factors in the consumer preference of organic vegetables. Garrett's ranking technique was employed to explore the constraints perceived in the purchase decision of the organic produce. Price of the produce was perceived as the major constraint followed by inadequate availability and lack of information.