The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar

Global retail chains are becoming increasingly dominant in the global food trade and their rise leads to dramatic impacts on agricultural supply chains and on small producers. However, the prospects and impacts of a food retail revolution in poor countries are not yet well understood. Here, we exami...

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Autor principal: Minten, Bart
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2007
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160216
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author Minten, Bart
author_browse Minten, Bart
author_facet Minten, Bart
author_sort Minten, Bart
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Global retail chains are becoming increasingly dominant in the global food trade and their rise leads to dramatic impacts on agricultural supply chains and on small producers. However, the prospects and impacts of a food retail revolution in poor countries are not yet well understood. Here, we examine this question in Madagascar, a poor but stable country where global retailers have been present for over a decade. Our survey and analysis finds that while global retail chains sell better quality food, their prices are 40 to 90% higher, ceteris paribus, than those seen in traditional retail markets. In poor settings, characterized by high food price elasticities, a lack of willingness to pay for quality, and small retail margins, supermarkets appear to set prices with an eye toward maximizing profits based on price-inelastic demands for quality products from a small middle class interested in one-stop shopping. It seems unlikely that global retail chains will further increase their food retail share in such poor settings.
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spelling CGSpace1602162025-11-06T05:21:46Z The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar Minten, Bart foods retail supermarkets food quality developing countries Global retail chains are becoming increasingly dominant in the global food trade and their rise leads to dramatic impacts on agricultural supply chains and on small producers. However, the prospects and impacts of a food retail revolution in poor countries are not yet well understood. Here, we examine this question in Madagascar, a poor but stable country where global retailers have been present for over a decade. Our survey and analysis finds that while global retail chains sell better quality food, their prices are 40 to 90% higher, ceteris paribus, than those seen in traditional retail markets. In poor settings, characterized by high food price elasticities, a lack of willingness to pay for quality, and small retail margins, supermarkets appear to set prices with an eye toward maximizing profits based on price-inelastic demands for quality products from a small middle class interested in one-stop shopping. It seems unlikely that global retail chains will further increase their food retail share in such poor settings. 2007 2024-11-21T09:50:17Z 2024-11-21T09:50:17Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160216 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Minten, Bart. The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar. IFPRI Discussion Paper 719. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160216
spellingShingle foods
retail
supermarkets
food quality
developing countries
Minten, Bart
The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title_full The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title_fullStr The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title_full_unstemmed The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title_short The food retail revolution in poor countries: Is it coming or is it over? Evidence from Madagascar
title_sort food retail revolution in poor countries is it coming or is it over evidence from madagascar
topic foods
retail
supermarkets
food quality
developing countries
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160216
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