The supermarket revolution in developing countries: tidal wave or tough competitive struggle?

An extensive literature on the transformation of food retailing in developing countries by the expansion of supermarkets has highlighted the implications of the concentration of food value chains for the continued incorporation of small farmers in fresh produce supply. A critical examination of this literature shows that extent of the transformation of retailing, and also of food production as a consequence of it, is overestimated, particularly for fresh produce. The future landscape of food retailing will be more varied than the supermarket revolution hypothesis predicts.