This article examines the rapid consolidation and multinationalisation of the supermarket sector in Brazil over the past decade. The impact of this on the horticulture marketing system is shown to include a sharp reduction in the role of traditional wholesale markets, the rise of specialised wholesalers and distribution centres, and the beginnings of contracts with growers. There have been similar changes in the dairy processing sector, with huge impacts on the dairy products systems leading to substantial concentration ‘upstream’ in the chain. For small farms and firms in both sectors, there is a need for substantial improvements in organisation and technology to face these challenges, and the government has a role in helping them make this adjustment.
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Elizabeth M. M. Q. Farina (2002) studied this question.