The Philippine STAR Friday, February 16, 2007 

"How will small vegetable farmers survive in the modern market in the face of trade liberalization, stricter food safety standards, the rise of supermarkets and dominant market players, and the rising costs of production?"

These will be among the critical questions that the 5th National Vegetable Congress will try to address when it convenes in Tagaytay City this coming March 7 to 9, 2007.

Prior to the Congress, a series of consultations with different players in the vegetable industry will be conducted in Baguio, Manila, Cebu and Davao from February 12 - 26, 2007 to discuss issues and validate findings from various research studies on the vegetable industry in the Philippines.

Inquirer.net 26 February 2007

LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET -- Vegetable industry leaders in the Cordillera Administrative Region and in Mindanao believed that combining their production and marketing strategies would better prepare the vegetable industry for globalization.

Mindanao Times, 28 February 2007

By Rizalene P. Acac  

THE lack of organization among small-scale vegetable farmers is the primary concern of the vegetable industry based on the nationwide consultation undertaken by the Regoverning Markets Program (RMP) that ended Monday.

Regoverning Markets is pleased to announce a special call for short desk studies about policy innovations in the public or private sectors that have led to enhanced market participation by small-scale producers.

edited by  Michel Pimbert, Khanh Tran-Thanh, Estelle Deléage, Magali Reinert, Christophe Trehet, Elizabeth Bennett

The outcomes of an electronic conference on the 'Future of Food and Small Scale Producers' are presented in this report. The electronic discussion primarily involved indigenous, small and family farmers, landless and fisherfolk as well as their representative organisations. The focus was on small-scale food producers - women and men who produce and harvest field and tree crops as well as livestock, fish and other aquatic organisms.

Authors: Moustier, P. (et al.)
Produced by: International Finance Corporation (IFC) (2005)
 
The study assesses conditions for an increased involvement of the poor in the food value chains driven by supermarkets and other value-adding outlets. The trends of the different distribution chains were analysed through the gathering of secondary data. Surveys on poor consumers' access to different retailing points were made in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Moc Chau, as well as comparison of prices between the different points of sale in these cities. Four case studies investigated poor farmers' and traders' participation in distribution value chains.

A Global Learning Network was launched today [to be completed].A video of the First Study Tour and Workshop is available at www.rimisp.org/video/

8 September 2006Thailand halts foreign hypermarket expansion

As reported in the Financial Times this morning, the Thai government has told foreign hypermarkets and other large retailers to put their expansion plans on hold following protests from independent shopkeepers claiming they being squeezed out by larger global players. Reportedly the Commerce Ministry's internal trade department has sent formal letters to 15 large retailers asking them to suspend their expansion plans until the government can adopt a new law governing the retail sector.

Indian conglomerate RELIANCE is moving in a big way into Indian retail sector, and is promising a "virtuous circle of prosperity by bringing farmers, small shopkeepers and consumers in a win-win situation.”.

In Thailand, the Commerce Ministry has established a special committee, which met yesterday for the first time, to establish new rules, principles and guidelines for the expansion of retailers. The ministry plans to announce its results in 30 days. Karun Kittisataporn, permanent secretary for the commerce ministry, has also threatened hefty fines or even prison sentences for big retailers who mistreat their suppliers. According to ministry guidelines unveiled earlier in the week, retailers are prohibited from "unfair practices" such as selling products below cost, asking suppliers for deep discounts, demanding higher "introduction fees" for new products, and returning products without valid reason. Violators may be fined up to THB6 million (USD160,000), or jailed for up to three years.