Norwegians don’t seem willing to pay extra for organic food (called økologisk mat), not the best news for producers within the agricultural niche.
A new survey conducted for newspaper Nationen showed that 49 percent of those questioned didn’t think it was important that the food they bought and ate was organic.
Interest in organic food was lowest among men, those who vote for the conservative Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp) and those lacking higher education.
Svein Ole Borgen of the National Institute for Consumer Research (Statens Institutt for Forbruksforskning, SIFO), linked the relative lack of interest in organic food, which is more expensive than non-organic varieties, to tighter personal budgets as a result of the finance crisis and higher concern over price.
“Consumers tend to think more about price than quality during crisis times,” said Borgen, adding that many Norwegian consumers also view locally produced food as safe even if it’s not organically produced.
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