La aceptacion de los alimentos de Comercio Justo. Un estudio exploratorio en lel sureste de Espana

El presente trabajo tiene como objetico analyizar el nivel de conocimiento y las posibiltidades de mercado de los alimentos d Comercio Justo (CJ). Para ello se ha llevado a cabo un estudio exploratoria basado en 176 encuestas a consumidores de Murcia y Alicante, en las que se ha medido el nivel de conocimiento real, la intencion de compra bajo varios supuestos y la disposicion a pagar. Tambien se pretende averiguar si los alimentos de CJ que no tienen competidor de produccion nacional (como el cafe) tienen mas posibilidades de mercado que aquellos que si lo tienen(como las naranjas). Los resultados muestran que solo un 29 por ciento de los consumidores saben lo que es el CJ. La intencion de compra es mayor si el producto se encuentra en el establecimiento habitual y si se recibe informacion sobre el significado del movimiento. Finalmente, la disposicion a pagar es mayor en el caso del cafe que en el de las naranjas, por lo que se confirma la hipotesis de que las posibilidades de mercado de un producto que no se produce en Espana son mayores que para un producto que tiene competidor de produccion nacional o local...In this article, Fair Trade (FT) movement in Spain in analyzed on the consumer perspective. FT is an alternative way of trade in which producers from developing countries are guaranteed to receive a fair payment by their products which are introduced in North markets through non profit associations. This movement broke in Europe in the sixties, but in Spain had a lately arrival at the beginning of the nineties. For this reason is a relatively unknown movement among consumers. The objective of this work is to analyze the level of knowledge and the market possibilities of fair trade food. To accomplish this aim an exploratory study has been undertaken based on 176 consumer surveys in Murcia and Alicante. The purpose of the surveys was to measure the real level of knowledge, the purchase intention under different assumptions and the willingness to pay. Besides, it is intended to find out if FT food without national production competitors (such as oranges). Findings show that only a 29 percent of consumers know the meanings of Fair Trade. Purchase intention is higher if the product is available at the habitual purchase place than at specialized shops. There is also a higher purchase intention after information about Fair Trade movement. Finally, the percentage of individuals who are willing to pay a premium price for FT coffee (88 percent) is higher than the proportion of individuals willing to pay more for FT oranges (56 percent). Moreover, average premium prices are higher in the case of coffee (58 percent) than in oranges (28 percent). For this reason, the hypothesis which says that market possibilities for a product without national production are higher than for a product with local production competitor.