Agricultural and Food Product Preferences of Consumers during the Covid-19 Period: The Case of Samsun Province, Turkey

Abstract

Covid-19, which started in China and affected all countries in the world in a short time, spread rapidly among people and caused serious losses of lives. This global pandemic has not only been effective on human health but has also brought a new economic and social order to the world. In Turkey, the impact of the pandemic reached critical dimensions in time, especially in the health sector, as well as in the agriculture and industry sectors. The purpose of this research is to comparatively evaluate consumer preferences for agricultural and food products during and before the Covid-19 period. The material of the research consists of the data obtained from 384 consumers residing in the urban area of Samsun. The results of the research showed that the ranking of the most important criteria related to agricultural and food products such as expiration date, price, brand, production date, and company name during the pandemic did not change compared to the pre-epidemic period, but the importance of the criteria increased. According to the results of the research, the highest consumption increase was in garlic with 57.1% compared to the pre-pandemic period, followed by bulgur (45.8%) and carrots (42.3%). It has been determined that the most effective factors in purchasing agricultural and food products during the pandemic period are price reductions (49.7%) and experience with the purchased product (28.1%). The fact that price reductions are taken into account when purchasing agricultural and food products show that economic concerns are still a determining criterion for consumers during the pandemic period.

Keywords

• covid-19
• pandemic
• consumer behavior
• agriculture and food product