Programme Resources Available

kate — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:07:36 +0000

Resources from the Regoverning Markets Programme relevant to China are available to download and read.

CARREFOUR China tries buying fruit and vegetables directly from farms

billv — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:40:35 +0000

Planet Retail 20 Mar 2008

According to local Chinese press reports, Carrfour China west division has signed contracts with local farms to buy fruit and vegetables directly from those farms. Carrefour said that the direct purchase will help lower down the retail price by 20%. Before fruit and vegetables has to go through many tiers of distributors till they reach Carrefour stores. For example, the price of radish is only CNY0.24 per kg from farms but rises to CNY1 in Carrefour stores after five tiers of distributors. Carrefour in Chengdu is looking forward to increasing its direct purchase from farms to 40-50% of total fresh produce in late 2008.

Regoverning Markets announces conference in Beijing on "Inclusive Business in Agrifood Markets"

billv — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:26:47 +0000

Regoverning Markets, in partnership with the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy and the Office of Agricultural Vertical Integration, Ministry of Agriculture, PR China, is hosting an international conference in Beijing to address the challenges of small-scale producers' inclusion in dynamic domestic and regional agrifood markets in developing and transition economy countries. The conference, entitled "Inclusive Business in Agrifood Markets: Evidence and Action" will take place in Beijing on March 5-6, 2008.

New Case Study from China: Carrefour's Quality Lines

billv — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:41:54 +0000

by Dinghuan Hu and Xia Dandan

Regoverning Markets Innovative Practice series, 2007

Carrefour entered the Chinese market with an innovative demand: the adoption of quality lines. This study describes how the quality line is the control and supervising line conducted on raw and fresh agri-food. The standards are set from planting, processing and distribution in order to guarantee the quality and safety of products. To better control production Carrefour gives training and assistance to farmers along with a strong coordination of quality standards. Because small scale farmers are difficult to control, Carrefour works mainly with large scale farmers.

The Supermarket Sector in China and Hong Kong: A Tale of Two Systems

billv — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 14:20:00 +0000

Dr. Mark Williams, Associate Professor of Law, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Paper presented at The 8th Competition Law Scholars Forum, City University, London, 7 September 2006

A Revolution in Food Retailing Underway in the Asia-Pacific Region

billv — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:13:53 +0000

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.

New book: The role of Guanxi in buyer-seller relationships in China

billv — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:24:33 +0000

The role of Guanxi in buyer-seller relationships in China: A survey of vegetable supply chains in Jiangsu Province
Author: Hualiang Lu
2007, 240 pages, ISSN 1874-7663

Report: The Ten Highlights of China's Commercial Sector, 2007-2008

billv — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:16:43 +0000

by Li & Fung Research Centre and The Expert Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce

In recent years, China's commercial sector has been evolving at a rapid pace. With impressive economic growth, rising wealth levels, continuous market liberalization and government efforts to boost domestic consumption, China's commercial sector presents rosy development prospects.China is a market not to be missed by investors today.