Is the Israeli public willing to pay more for fresh local produce, or does it prefer a price? This is the question that the Ministry of Agriculture sought to examine against the background of promoting the initiative led by the Ministry to mark the country of origin of fruits, vegetables, fish and meat, which are sold in bulk and packaging, in a survey whose findings are now being published for the first time.
The survey findings, which were based on a representative sample of 620 respondents from the Jewish and Arab populations, show that price is the parameter that is perceived as most important to consumers, along with markings that indicate freshness. In contrast, the name of the tower or packing house is perceived as the least important, with the country of origin of the agricultural produce important to about half of the consumers.
The survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture examined what are the parameters that are important to consumers when purchasing agricultural produce in bulk. The survey findings show that the most important thing for consumers is to mark the date of harvest of the produce. 64% of respondents indicated that this is important or very important to them.
In contrast, the name of the company or tower was perceived as the least important parameter in the category. Only 34% of respondents cited it as an important or very important parameter. And what about the habitat? It turns out that for half (51%) of the respondents the country of growth is important or very important when purchasing the product.
The importance of the price marking parameter in this category has not been tested since it is on the shelf. In contrast, in the category of fruits and vegetables that are not sold in bulk but in packaging, the final price for the packaged product is the most important parameter. Thus, 88% of respondents indicated that it is very important, compared to specifying the name of the tower or packing house, which was mentioned as the least important mark with only about 36% indicating it as important or very important.
Regarding packaged fruits and vegetables, it turns out that for the most part (52%) respondents the country of growth is important or very important when purchasing the product. The importance of the price marking parameter in this category has not been tested since it exists on the shelf.
And what about animal food? In the fresh fish category, it was found that the name of the fish and price per kilogram are the most important parameters for marking, with 88% of the respondents indicating them as important or very important. The least important parameter was the name of the sorting station with only about 30%. The country of origin or fishing location was important or very important to 59% of the respondents.
In the category of beef or fresh chicken, the price per kilo was perceived as the most important parameter with over 90% indicating it as important or very important, with the name of the slaughterhouse being perceived as the least important with less than 50%. In the case of meat, the country of cultivation or production is more significant than in vegetables, fruits or fish, a parameter that is important or very important for about 68% of the respondents.
For many years, the Ministry of Agriculture has been working to promote a number of initiatives that will enable the marking of the country of origin of fresh agricultural produce, with the intention of helping the consumer differentiate between local and imported produce. In parallel with legislative initiatives that have not yet entered into force, the Ministry of Agriculture recently approached the major food chains, with some of them giving their consent to mark the source of the produce.
The purpose of the moves is to promote the marking of the source of fresh produce on the shelves so that the consumer receives as much information as possible and chooses what he wants to buy based on this information. Past surveys by the ministry show that Israelis prefer to buy local Israeli products, and are willing to pay even a little more for them.
“The Israeli consumer deserves to know more about the vegetables, fruits, fish and meat he buys at the supermarket. I believe it is worth giving the consumer all the information and allowing him to choose to buy from blue-and-white agriculture,” Agriculture Minister Alon Schuster told Globes.