Özet:

nd for organic food has been rapidly increasing worldwide, because of an improvement in the awareness of environmental problems and health concerns. Although the demand for organic food is increasing, the popularity of organic food is not widespread and the perception of organic food varies in the wide public. This study aimed to understand rural areas consumers’ perception of organic food and the importance of organic certification in customer’s decisions for obtaining insights into their consumption of organic food. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey. However, for the present study, the researcher selected retail shops from various stores such as small shop and department store in rural areas. The more consumers are interested in trust and are confident with the claimed benefits, the more likely will they purchase organic food. In addition, organic labels and certification turned out to be important for the consumers when shopping organic food. This research was the first study to investigate the consumers perception of organic food in a rural area. It is also observed that health, nutrition, taste, and chemical/fertilizer free nature are the attributes that have an influence on the purchase decision of organic food products by rural consumers. “Health benefits” were the first and primary reason for purchasing organic food, while “high price” was the key deterrent to purchasing organic food.

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