Italian Consumers’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Organic Beef

In this paper the results of a study aimed to assess prospective consumers’ behavior concerning organic beef, with particular emphasis on consumers’ willingness to pay for it, are presented. The study is based on a random telephone survey conducted in 2001, in the Piedmont Region. The results suggest that a large share of consumers are willing to buy organic beef even at prices appreciably higher than prices of regular meat, and the maximum prices at which they are prepared to purchase organic meat are quite high. Preferred selling modalities mainly depend on present purchasing habits. Organic beef directly cut by butchers would be preferred to packaged and labeled beef. Organic beef might therefore gain an appreciable market share. The reasons for its present scarce consumption are probably due to the supply side of the market.