USDA Amber Waves Vol 3(4) June 2006

Rapid economic growth and urbanization are transforming the retail food sector in the developing economies of the Asia-Pacific region. At the center of this revolution is the spread of modern self-service foodstores: supermarkets, hypermarkets, discount and club stores, and chain convenience stores. Through highly efficient procurement and distribution systems, modern chain stores are able to offer consumers lower prices, greater convenience, and higher quality and safer food in increasingly complex, often congested, urban markets. They are also having profound effects on the food supply chain through their increased capacity to trade with large and distant suppliers and their ability to force domestic food producers to adapt and modernize.

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