The study, released last week, asked more than 21,000 internet users across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and South Africa whether they bought organic food and beverages.

The percentage of shoppers in 13 Asia Pacific markets surveyed by the firm who said they bought organic products surpassed the global average, especially in the dairy, fruit juice, packaged food and tea sectors.

Chinese participants emerged as the leading regular consumers of organic fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, dairy, and carbonated drinks across all countries in the survey.

Thai respondents were the largest consumers of organic fruit juices and packaged food.

Almost two thirds of the organic shoppers believed that these foods were healthier for them. Shoppers in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines were most aware of the personal health benefits, with 66 per cent of them buying for this reason.

Unlike European consumers, those in the Asia Pacific region do not appear to be driven by environmental issues. The benefits to the environment and the better treatment of animals was not considered an important reason to buy organic, with only 14 per cent giving this as a reason, compared to the European market, where production methods play a pivotal role behind consumer purchase.

Asian consumers are still put off by the expense of organic foods however, as well as the lack of availability on the shelves and a lack of confidence in the way that the products are produced.

"How mainstream organic products become, to a significant degree, depends on what happens with their prices," noted Tom Markert, ACNielsen chief marketing officer.

"But I'm not expecting large price cuts. Even as production increases and the number of categories that include organic offerings expands, marketers may very well opt to maintain organics' upscale positioning."

Organic food and beverage producers also need to tackle a lack of confidence and distrust in labelling and the concept of organic itself, especially in countries such as Taiwan, Korea, China and Thailand, where large proportions of those who do not buy organic believe that the food labeled is not really produced the way it says it is.

China, despite having a large organic market, could also be missing out on further expansion due to lack of availability. In the survey, 24 per cent said organic foods were unavailable to them.