The Global Retail Revolution, Fruiticulture And Economic Development In North-east Brazil

Review of International Political Economy

South America

Rapidly expanding world fruiticulture markets provide developing country producers with new income opportunities and much development literature and policy is orientated towards facilitating export production in these countries. However, it has been widely observed that the global retail revolution is accelerating the exclusion of small producers from export markets and (increasingly) from many domestic retail chains due to rising entry barriers. Small producers are thus often only able to sell their produce on to relatively low price ‘traditional’ markets. This paper is based on data collected from a recently emerged fruiticulture sector in north-east Brazil. It shows that (a) export fruiticulture does generate significant economic benefits, (b) that modern domestic retail markets are increasingly demanding and exclusionary, but also, and counter to much of the literature concerned with export promotion, that (c) small-farms producing fruiticulture products for ‘traditional’ domestic markets do generate positive local economic impacts. Policymakers should, therefore, consider new ways of assisting smaller producers to enter these markets.

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Selwyn Benjamin