Introduction

The growing global demand for healthy food, along with increasing concern over environmental sustainability and food safety, has accelerated interest in organic agricultural products in recent decades. Organic farming is recognized as a sustainable production system that minimizes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical inputs while promoting biodiversity, maintaining soil fertility, protecting ecosystems, and supporting long-term agricultural sustainability. In addition to its environmental benefits, organic agriculture produces healthier food that consumers generally perceive as safer, more nutritious, and superior in taste and quality than conventionally produced products. However, higher production costs, certification expenses, limited market availability, and price premiums remain major barriers to the expansion of organic food markets, particularly in developing countries. Apples are among the most widely consumed fruits in Iran, and East Azerbaijan Province is one of the country's leading apple-producing regions, making the development of an organic apple market economically and environmentally important. Its long-term success depends largely on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for desirable product attributes. Understanding the value consumers assign to these attributes provides valuable information for producers, marketers, and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable agriculture and expand organic food markets. Choice Experiment (CE), based on Random Utility Theory, is one of the most widely used stated preference methods for estimating consumer preferences and measuring the monetary value of product attributes. Unlike conventional valuation methods, CE estimates consumers' marginal willingness to pay for multiple attributes simultaneously through repeated hypothetical purchase decisions. Accordingly, this study estimates the willingness to pay of households in Tabriz for organic apples using the Choice Experiment approach. It evaluates preferences for four key attributes: complete elimination of chemical inputs, a 50% reduction in chemical use, environmentally friendly production, and desirable taste and aroma. In addition, the study examines whether socioeconomic characteristics affect consumers' price sensitivity through interaction effects in the econometric model.

Materials and Methods

This research was conducted among households residing in Tabriz, Iran, during 2025. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire administered to 200 households selected by stratified random sampling with proportional allocation across municipal districts. The sample size was determined according to Orme's sampling criterion for Choice Experiment studies. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: respondents' attitudes toward organic products (Likert-scale questions), the Choice Experiment scenarios, and socioeconomic characteristics, including age, gender, education, household size, marital status, and monthly household income. Based on previous empirical studies and expert consultation, four product attributes were selected: price, environmental protection, taste and aroma, and chemical input use. Price included four levels (500,000, 550,000, 600,000, and 650,000 IRR/kg); environmental protection had two levels (yes/no); taste and aroma included pleasant natural versus undesirable flavor; and chemical input use consisted of conventional production, a 50% reduction in chemical inputs, and complete elimination of chemical inputs. The experimental design was generated using SAS software. After excluding implausible combinations, ten choice profiles were organized into five choice sets, each containing three purchasing alternatives, to reduce respondents' cognitive burden while maintaining statistical efficiency. Consumer choices were analyzed using the Conditional Logit Model based on Random Utility Theory. An extended model with interaction terms between price and selected socioeconomic variables was also estimated to examine preference heterogeneity. The Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives (IIA) assumption was tested using the Hausman–McFadden test, and marginal willingness to pay for each attribute was calculated from the estimated attribute and price coefficients.

Results and Discussion

Descriptive findings show favorable attitudes toward organic food among Tabriz consumers, indicating considerable market potential for organic apples. The Conditional Logit Model revealed that all product attributes significantly affected purchasing decisions at the 1% level. Consumers preferred apples with reduced or no chemical use, environmentally friendly production, and desirable taste and aroma, while higher prices reduced selection probability. Among interaction terms, only price × education was significant, indicating lower price sensitivity among more educated consumers; interactions with income, age, gender, household size, marital status, and attitudes were insignificant. The interaction model showed a slightly better fit, and the Hausman–McFadden test confirmed the IIA assumption. Estimated WTP was highest for taste and aroma (154,307 IRR/kg), followed by complete elimination of chemicals (146,747 IRR), 50% chemical reduction (101,075 IRR), and environmental protection (98,621 IRR), with an average WTP of 123,911 IRR/kg. Overall, consumers valued product quality and food safety more than broader environmental benefits.

Conclusions

The findings demonstrate substantial consumer demand for organic apples in Tabriz, with households willing to pay meaningful premiums for improved food safety, sensory quality, and environmental sustainability. Taste and aroma were the most influential attribute, followed by complete elimination of chemical inputs, indicating that consumers primarily associate organic products with superior eating quality, reduced health risks, and environmental benefits. Education significantly reduced price sensitivity, highlighting the importance of public awareness of the health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture. Educational campaigns, consumer information, transparent certification, financial support for producers, reduced certification costs, and improved marketing infrastructure could strengthen consumer confidence and expand organic agriculture in Iran. Future research could examine psychological and behavioral determinants, other agricultural products, and larger samples across different regions to improve generalizability.