Market Potentials and Willingness to Pay for Selected Organic Vegetables in Kandy

Organic products are considered to be superior in quality compared to conventionally produced products, since it has been proved that organic products help prevent several health hazards. Therefore, demand for organic products are increasing all over the world, as well as in Sri Lanka. Given this increasing demand for organic products, this study was conducted with a view to identifing the market potentials for organic products and consumer expectations in Kandy. Further, it identifies the factors that influence the additional willingness to pay for organic vegetables. The research was conducted in three supermarkets, namely, Cargills, Dhanasiri and Royal Garden Mall. Thirty respondents were randomly selected from each of the supermarkets. Results reveal that most of the consumers are aware of organic products and this awareness has influenced their consumption of organic products in the past. Further, a majority of the consumers considered price as an important factor for their organic product consumption and have attached a higher importance for certification from a reputed organization. Consumers also indicated that organic products should be sold in easily accessible shops for the convenience of purchasing. Results of the regression analysis revealed that of the socio-demographic factors, income, environmental education and years of education significantly influence the willingness to pay for organic vegetables. Based on the study it could be concluded that consumer awareness effectively advances the demand for organic products and there is a high potential to introduce organic products to the supermarkets in Kandy. Therefore, along with introducing organic products, marketers should also direct proper awareness programs among consumers in promoting the demand for organic products. * The authors are, respectively, Final Year Undergraduate Student at the time the study was conducted, and Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Economics, University