Rapid Growth and Transformation of Wholesale Markets and Wholesalers in Africa and South Asia
Thursday, January 22, 2026
AAEA members present research at ASSA
MILWAUKEE, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- AAEA invites media to attend their sessions at the ASSA 2026 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
On Monday, January 5, 2026 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (EST) at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, four AAEA members will speak at the session "Rapid Growth and Transformation of Wholesale Markets and Wholesalers in Africa and South Asia "
Presentations in this session include (speakers are listed first):
Growth and Transformation of Horticultural and Fish Wholesale and Retail Markets in the Poorer Northern and the Relatively Affluent Southern regions of Nigeria
-- Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Michigan State University
-- Oyinkan Tasie, Michigan State University
-- Ben Belton, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
The paper presents the findings of a unique detailed field survey of 300 wholesale markets in the poorer Northern and the relatively affluent Southern regions of Nigeria, spanning urban and rural zones and "production versus consumption" areas for the studied products of tomatoes, green leafy vegetables (GLVs), and fish. These markets are supplied by long supply chains for tomatoes and fish and short-medium chains for GLVs. Unlike the India case, there is no issue of regulated vs non-regulated markets, but there is large variation in governance (in public versus private, municipal versus local rural markets) and self-governance institutions (variations in the importance of trader associations). The sample allows a comparison over the sharp regional differences, as well as governance conditions; these two things are important development strategy and policy issues in Nigeria. This divide is important to the debate on inclusion (of women and youths and richer and poorer regions). Hitherto there has not been an analysis of how market growth, inclusion, and performance differ over these categories. The paper analyzes the determinants of differences in these variables and draws policy and research agenda implications.
Growth and Transformation of Horticultural and Fish Wholesale and Retail Markets in Odisha, India
-- Sudha Narayanan, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Ben Belton, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
-- Aditi Gautam, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Michigan State University
The paper presents the findings of a unique detailed field survey of 300 wholesale and retail markets in six districts of Odisha, India, one of the poorest states. The markets sell a wide variety of vegetables and fish. The sample allows a comparison over state-regulated and non-regulated markets, a key policy issue in India; it also allows comparison of markets in lagging or hinterland zones (mainly "tribal areas") and non-tribal coastal urban areas. This divide is important to the debate on inclusion (of women and youths as well as of tribal area traders and wholesalers) and development in India, and hitherto there has not been an analysis of how market growth, inclusion, and performance differ over the areas as well as regulated versus not. Both of these zones have experienced rapid growth of markets concomitant with large public investments in roads, rapid urbanization in the state, and the emergence of "spontaneous clusters" as well as some assisted clusters of vegetable and fish production in the State. The paper also analyzes the ways in which sweeping intra-India "imports" from earlier-developing states north and south of Odisha condition - complementing or competing with - the emergent wholesale sector in this state of 50 million people.
Dis-intermediation in the Wholesale Segment of Agrifood Value Chains in Africa and South Asia
-- Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
-- Ibrahim Hassen, Michigan State University
-- Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Michigan State University
-- Bart Minten, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Ben Belton, International Food Policy Research Institute
Dis-intermediation is a term for a phenomenon usually written of and observed in the modern food industry, such as supermarket chains shifting from procuring produce from farmers via the intermediated step of wholesalers, to buying direct from farmers or agribusinesses. Far less documented and studied in the food markets and international development literature is dis-intermediation occurring in relatively traditional agrifood value chains (AVCs) such as those dominant in Africa and South Asia, the poorest regions. However, a series of detailed and unique "stacked surveys" in these regions in the past 15 years have showed that AVCs have experience dis-intermediation in which urban based wholesalers have shifted from reliance on rural brokers (village traders) and instead source from farmers by setting up their own networks and dispatching third-partly logistics (3PLS) small firms to fetch the produce. The extent, determinants, and effects on trader's relations with farmers (such as whether they implement informal "relational contracts" or not) and on the overall performance of AVCs has not been assessed. This paper addresses that gap and compares evidence mainly from our detailed recent primary surveys over various countries in Africa and Asia. We assess the implications for research and the policy agenda.
Who Participates in Odisha's Vegetable Value Chains as Wholesalers & Retailers, and on What Terms?
-- Ben Belton, International Food Policy Research Institute
-- Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
-- Sudha Narayanan, IFPRI-New Delhi
-- Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Michigan State University
In this paper we draw on surveys of vegetable markets and marketing intermediaries in Odisha, India, to answer the empirical question of who participates in markets, and on what terms. We explore how gender, caste, and ethnicity influence the extent and form of participation in vegetable marketing activities, and the scale of benefits derived from this participation. We also explore how different forms of market governance (state, private, hybrid) interact with social institutions and identities to produce more or less equitable outcomes for marketing intermediaries, producers, and consumers.
If you are interested in complimentary press pass for ASSA, please contact Paityn Connolly at paityn.h.younger@vanderbilt.edu.
ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes three journals, the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (an open access journal), the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit http://www.aaea.org.
Media Contact
Allison Ware, Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, 414-918-3190, aware@aaea.org, www.aaea.org
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SOURCE Agricultural & Applied Economics Association
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