농축산물 인증마크에 대한 소비자지식과 추가지불의도

Consumer Knowledge about and Willingness to Pay for Certified Farm Products

This study investigated levels of consumer knowledge and willingness to pay for certified farm products. Four types of certificates were selected from those managed by Korean NAQS. These werethe Organic Processed Food Certification, the GAP certification, the Agricultural Products Traceability Management System (APTMS), and the Korea Protected Geographical Indication (KPGI). In 2016, a questionnaire survey was administered to 306 housewives aged between 21 and 61 in the Greater Seoul area. Consumers’ knowledge about and their willingness to pay (WTP) for rice, apples, napa, and beef labeled with four types of certificates were measured. Results showed that 47% of the respondents understood the meaning of an organic marker but only about one third of the respondents understood the markers for GAP, geographical certificate, and traceability certificate. WTP ranged from 110% of the baseline price (for rice) to 123% (for beef); the average WTP across all the products and certificate types was 116% of their baseline prices. Among the four certificate types and four product types, WTP for organic certificates and beef were the highest. Respondents who had grown up in theSeoul area or who were employed tended to have high WTP scores, although their consumer knowledge levels about the certificates were not very high. By contrast, the group with both a high WTP score and good consumer knowledge had high household incomes compared to the other groups.