Changing Food Supply, Demand, and Marketing Issues - Adequate Food for All - page 397

In contrast, by 2005 supermarkets had penetrated the middle-class and the poorer
urban neighborhoods and rural areas, particularly in Latin America. Whereas super-
markets accounted for 15 to 30% of the national food retail sales before 1990, they
now account for about 50 to 70% of the retail sales in many Latin American coun-
tries. This corresponds to a level of growth experienced in the United States during
a 50-year period (Table 23.3). Although at somewhat a slower pace, the growth of
modern food retailing in Asia resembles that of Latin America. However, supermar-
kets in Asia are growing at a faster rate compared to supermarkets in Latin America
(Reardon and Berdegué, 2002; Hu et al. 2004).
Regmi and Gehlhar (2005) also noted that the expanding supermarket sector in
developing countries has been led by multinational companies that are often foreign
owned. In Latin America, for instance, such large multinational firms as Carrefour,
Wal-Mart, and Royal Ahold represent nearly 80% of the top five supermarket chains
in most large countries. These companies have also made substantial investments to
grab market share in the Asian markets in recent years. The success of multinational
retailers in the global retail market is due primarily to their ability to offer a wide
assortment of low-price products. Therefore, the presence of large multinational food
retailers is having evident impacts on food prices and affordability, in particular for
urban populations. These companies have large-scale operations with sophisticated
supply chains reaching multiple countries, allowing them to handle large volumes of

tAble 23.3
supermarkets' share of Retail sales in selected countries

Previous 2001

country year Percent Percent

United States 1930 5-10 80 a

Latin America

Argentina 1985 17 57

Brazil 1990 30 75

Chile NA NA 50

Guatemala 1994 15 35

Mexico NA NA 45

Asia

China (urban) 1999 30 48

Indonesia 1999 20 25

Korea 1999 61 65

Malaysia 1999 27 31

Thailand 1999 35 43

a 2000.
Sources: T. Reardon and J.A. Berdegué, 2002, Development Policy Review 20(4):317-334; D. Hu, T.
Reardon, S. Rozelle, P. Timmer, and H. Wang, 2004, Development Policy Review 22(5):557-
586; A. Regmi and M. Gehlhar, 2005, Amber Waves 1:12-19.