Fruit and Vegetable Industry Session N°7

Factors affecting consumer choices for fresh fruit and vegetables.

The decision to purchase and consume fresh fruit and vegetables (FVs) depends on multiple factors. On a broader scale, economic factors such as inflation and labour shortages can impact the prices of fresh produce, thereby affecting consumer choices (i.e. COVID-19 pandemic). Government policies, agricultural practices, and global trade agreements also play a significant role in determining the availability and affordability of FVs. Understanding determinants is crucial for developing effective interventions to promote healthier dietary patterns at individual, social, physical, and macro-level.

At the individual level, demographic elements such as household income, socio-economic status, and education play a pivotal role. People with higher income levels and better education are more likely to consume a diverse range of FVs. Personal preferences, knowledge about health benefits, and dietary restrictions also significantly influence individual choices. Social factors include cultural norms, family habits, and social networks.

Physical factors include accessibility and availability. The proximity of grocery stores, markets, and the availability of fresh produce can greatly affect consumption patterns.

To make FVs more affordable is a necessity. To address issues of economic access to FV consumption, there is a need to have interventions aimed at reaching lower socio-economic groups, such as social protection programmes improving access to credit or voucher systems. Making FVs more affordable needs to be embedded in a regulatory strategy and government schemes (i.e., subsidies on FV production, as well as improving local production, marketing, trade, and storage; incentivising the sale of healthier foods, such as FVs in retail markets, to support traditional markets and farmers’ markets that sell fresh products around supermarkets, which can support the livelihoods of small informal vendors that might be replaced by large retail outlets). Other strategies mentioned included focusing on improved methods of food storage and processing techniques for FVs to maintain dietary diversity, encouraging consumption of frozen FVs.

More communication on the multiple benefits of eating FVs on a regular basis, source of vitamins and minerals and fibres, needs to be made by governmental organisations and the industry.