Determination of vegetable oil consumption preferences: The case of Tokat province

In this study, it was aimed to determine the vegetable oil consumption preferences of consumers in the city center of Tokat. For this purpose, it was aimed to determine the types of vegetable oil preferred by consumers and the factors they attach importance to when purchasing. In addition, the relationships between vegetable oil consumption and gender, education, brand, price, place of purchase preference and income were examined. The main material of the study consists of primary data obtained from consumers residing in the urban area of Tokat province in February-March 2022 by survey method. The sample size was determined as 271. Chi-square analysis was used to test whether there is a significant difference between many issues related to vegetable oil consumption and the factors affecting it. Likert scale, percentage and cross tabulations were also used in the study. It was determined that 85.6% of the consumers consumed sunflower oil, 62.0% olive oil and 3.7% corn oil. The most important reasons for sunflower oil consumption were found to be affordability (68.1%), habit (51.3%) and taste (38.4%). The most important reasons for olive oil consumption were health (83.3%) and taste (66.7%). The findings of this study provide important information on oil consumption preferences and provide valuable clues for policy makers, producers and consumers in this field.