Consumer Attitudes Towards Imported Organic Food in China and Germany: The Key Importance of Trust

Abstract

Imports are necessary to satisfy consumer demand for a varied organic food assortment. In developed economies, consumers generally prefer domestic products, while consumers in developing and emerging economies tend to prefer imported. Underlying reasons for these organic food preferences are explored in an emerging and a developed economy, China and Germany, employing a comparative mixed-methods approach consisting of in-store interviews, focus groups, and an online survey. Contrary to prior research, we find a domestic country bias for organic foods in China, but smaller than in Germany, and Chinese consumers trust the organic standards of developed countries more than their own. Chinese consumers’ primary reasons for preferring organic foods are food quality and safety concerns. German consumers prefer domestic products and imports from geographically close countries and environmental concerns are the primary reasons for this and for preferring organic foods. Results suggest that higher consumer trust in institutions in developed (“WEIRD”) countries is a competitive advantage for producers in these countries, not only on the domestic market, but also in the world market for organic food.