Urban Chinese consumers' attitude towards GE food and GE rice｜Greenpeace

Urban Chinese Consumers’ Attitude towards GE food and GE rice Survey Summary Greenpeace China 2005

The survey was commissioned by Greenpeace China in November, 2004 and was conducted by IPSOS Marketing Research & Consulting in December, 2004. The objective of the survey is to understand the attitudes of consumers in China’s largest cities towards GE food in general and GE rice in particular.

Survey Cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou

Survey Method: CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing)

Sampling Method: Random sampling by computerized system. Respondents must be in the age range of 18-55, have never had any marketing survey in the last 6 months, and do not work in related occupations.

They should have been living in that particular city for more than 1 year. Respondents’ gender ratio is based on the gender ratio of the population in respective cities.

Sampling Size: N=600. 200 samples for Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively.

Survey Date: Dec 2004.

益普索(中国)市场研究咨询有限公司 IPSOS (China) Marketing Research & Consulting Co., Ltd.

Part One: Attitude towards GE Food 1. Overall Awareness The percentage of respondents who have heard of GE food is relatively high (62%). However, their understanding of this issue is shallow and only about 30% of the respondents know about the existing GE food labeled in the market.

2. City Difference Consumers from Beijing and Shanghai are more informed about GE food than those in Guangzhou. (72% in BJ, 67% in SH and 47% in GZ) Accordingly, consumers from Beijing and Shanghai adopt a clearer stance on the GE issue than Guangzhou consumers.

3. Attitude Consumers show a clear preference for non-GE food. (57% would choose non-GE food). Their caution towards GE food is partially determined by how much they are informed. Statistics shows that the informed group takes a clearer stance against GE food than the other group that has not heard of it.

4. Other Findings Consumer’s demand for the right to know is very strong: 83% of the respondents deemed it necessary to establish a mandatory labeling system. It is strongly recommended that food containing GE ingredients should be labeled; otherwise, more than 50% of the consumers (54%) will have a bad impression on the brand.

Regarding people of different genders or age groups, no salient difference is found in their perception of GE food.

益普索(中国)市场研究咨询有限公司 IPSOS (China) Marketing Research & Consulting Co., Ltd.

Part Two: Attitude towards GE Rice 1.General Awareness Generally speaking, consumers are not well informed about GE rice. Only 36% of the respondents have heard of it, including those who recalled it after prompting. Few consumers are informed about the approval process and other knowledge concerning GE rice.

2. City Difference Consumers in Beijing and Shanghai are more informed about GE rice than those in Guangzhou and accordingly, people from these two cities take a clearer stance against GE rice.

3. Attitude Consumers show a very clear preference for non-GE rice (73%) and food not containing GE rice ingredients (75%). This preference is partially determined by their perception level. The informed group takes a clearer stance against GE rice.

4. Right to Know Consumers have a very high demand for their right to know. 95% of the respondents call for a mandatory labeling of GE rice, 93% agree that the government should make the approval process more transparent and 79% agree that the public should be more involved in decision making.

For more information please contact Ma Tiantje, Greenpeace China, email: ma.tianjie@cn.greenpeace.org; Tel: +86 13600077074

益普索(中国)市场研究咨询有限公司 IPSOS (China) Marketing Research & Consulting Co., Ltd.