International Marketing of Organic Foods: Consumers,Standards, and Harmonization

Differing technical standards can be barriers to international trade. Harmonizing standards is one means of removing barriers to trade. It is argued in this article that international harmonization may not be welfare enhancing if consumers have a strong attachment to their domestic standards. Standards for organic products differ among countries and act as a barrier to trade. International harmonization has been proposed. Consumers were surveyed in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to determine their likely attachment to existing domestic organic standards. The results suggest that consumers, even those with a preference for organic foods, have little understanding of their domestic standards and only weakly identify with them. As a result, harmonization could be pursued. Agribusiness firms that are interested in harmonization to expand their access to export markets should promote the development of a new international standard rather than harmonization to one of the existing domestic standards.