Consumers' standpoints on the consumption of fruit in Serbia

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of consumers' standpoints regarding the importance of fruit consumption in Serbia, based on a study conducted on a sample of 272 respondents. Special attention is given to identifying the factors that affect the decision to buy fruit, as well as the attitudes of the respondents regarding the market supply and the influence of fruit consumption on health. Fruit quality is a critical factor affecting the decision to purchase fruit, and there is no statistically significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and this factor. Most of the respondents (89.4%) claim that fruit has a positive effect on health, while significantly fewer respondents (48.9%) believe that they could buy more fruit with their current incomes, which implies that one of the factors limiting the consumption of fruit is the level of income. However, the results of the analysis indicate that, in addition to the financial elements, respondents' attitudes about the quality of their diet are also a limiting factor for increased consumption of fruit.

U radu su analizirani stavovi potrošača o značaju potrošnje voća u Srbiji, na osnovu istraživanja koje je sprovedeno na uzorku od 272 ispitanika. Posebna pažnja usmerena je ka određivanju faktora koji determinišu odluku o kupovini voća, kao i na stavove ispitanika o snabdevenosti tržišta i uticaju potrošnje voća na zdravlje. Kvalitet voća presudan je činilac koji utiče na odluku o kupovini voća, pri čemu ne postoji statistički značajna veza između socio-demografskih karakteristika ispitanika i ovog faktora. Najveći broj ispitanika (89,4%) smatra da voće pozitivno utiče na zdravlje, dok značajno manji broj (48,9%) misli da može da kupuje više voća pri trenutnim primanjima, što implicira da je jedan od ograničavajućih faktora potrošnje voća visina dohotka. Međutim, rezultati analize upućuju da, pored finansijskih elemenata, stavovi ispitanika o kvalitetu njihove ishrane takođe predstavljaju limitirajući faktor za povećanu potrošnju voća.