New Book from CABI: Global Supply Chains, Standards and the Poor: How the Globalization of Food Systems and Standards Affects Rural Development and Poverty.

Edited by J F M Swinnen, KU Leuven, Belgium. February 2007 

Using original research from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America this book reviews the recent restructuring of the global agri-food industry and the dramatic rise of global retail chains in developing and transition countries. It focuses on the private standards and requirements imposed by multinational companies investing in these countries and the resulting changes to existing supply chains. It also examines the impact of these changes on local producers, particularly poor farmers, and considers the long-term policy implications in terms of growth and poverty.

by Miet Maertens and Johan F.M. Swinnen

LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance & Department of Economics, University of Leuven

Supermarkets, Wholesalers, and Tomato Growers in Guatemala

by Ricardo Hernández, Thomas Reardon and Julio Berdegué

The article shows that in a comparison between supermarket channels (working via dedicated wholesalers) and traditional channels, farmers selling to supermarkets tend to be in the upper-end of the "small farmer" category (whereas the traditional-channel growers are in the lower-end), have more capital (in particular, irrigation, which allows them to supply all year and attain greater productivity and consistency), and are much more specialized in commercial horticulture in general and in tomatoes in particular, as compared to the traditional farmers. While they have higher yields, they also have higher input use, including use of chemicals.

Supermarkets (short for all modern retail) are spreading quickly in developing countries. The "take-off" occurred as recently as the early/mid 1990s, driven by an avalanche of foreign direct investment (FDI) sparked by retail FDI liberalization. A decade on, the power and dominance of supermarkets is already felt in the food markets of many developing countries, and tensions between supermarkets and traditional retailers, and supermarkets and their suppliers, are emerging as key policy and political debates. The paper analyzes those tensions. Then it reviews the US and Western European history and current experience in designing policies (regulations and support programs) to address those tensions. It ends with an analysis of emerging policy approaches to the supermarket sector and the tensions its growth is creating in developing countries, and recommendations.

The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets? This article by Bruce Traill suggest significant but not explosive further penetration of supermarkets in developing and middle-income countries to 2015. Increased openness and GDP growth are the most significant factors.

Supermarkets have an increasing influence on developing countries, but do they provide beneficial foreign investment by stimulating local production and employment? In this PANOS article, Mildred Mpundu investigates the impact of the South African chain store, Shoprite Checkers, on small local farmers in Zambia.

Niek Koning and Per Pinstrup-Andersen (editors)

Wageningen UR Frontis Series, volume 19. Springer Science & Business Media, ISBN: 978-1-4020-6079-3

Will poor countries benefit from agricultural trade liberalization? This question is of great importance now that efforts are being made to revamp the Doha Round and negotiations on European Partnership Agreements are entering their final phase. The Doha round was called a Development Round, but little was accomplished before the negotiations stalled in mid-2006. The assumption was that developing countries would gain from trade liberalization in agricultural commodities, but whether this is true for the 50 least developed countries (LDCs) remains hotly debated. Will gains from liberalization offset the erosion of the preferential access that LDCs currently have to OECD markets? Or will such gains be captured by middle-income countries with strong export potential in agriculture? Are LDC interests well represented by the Group of 21, which consist primarily of middle-income countries? How can LDCs respond to the continuation of trade-distorting policies of OECD countries? In this book, several experts on international trade and development address these and related questions. Unlike many other books on these issues, they embody divergent perspectives, spanning the whole range from neo-liberalism to new institutional approaches and the vision that managed trade rather than free trade should be the guiding principle for regulating agricultural markets.

by Reardon, T. and C.P. Timmer. 2007.

This chapter traces the evolution of the agricultural economics literature on agrifood output markets over the past 50 years, emphasizing research approaches and policy issues.

27 April 2006. AT Kearney has published its 2006 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). This index is designed to help retailers prioritize their global development strategies, by ranking 30 emerging countries based on more than 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables. Findings are as follows. On a regional level, Asia reclaimed the lead position from the maturing markets of Eastern Europe. As part of Asia, the Middle East posted the highest retail sales growth globally, led by United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Mediterranean held steady with mixed results, while Latin America recovered from its economic crises and enjoyed a strong return on the Index. Finally, Africa remains outside the game, but that is not stopping retailers from entering this populous region.

Paper by Bart Minten, Lalaina Randrianarison and Johan F.M. Swinnen 2005