Summary Modern retail is quickly becoming an important driver of change in food markets in developing countries. However, the impact of this development on basic food prices facing urban consumers is not well understood. In a detailed case study of Delhi, modern retail is shown to emerge...

In Dhaka, the share of the less expensive coarse rice is shown to be rapidly decreasing in rice markets and it thus seems that the role of rice as only a cheap staple food is being redefined. The increasing demand for the more expensive varieties is seemingly associated with a more important...

In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh—one of the poorest countries in Asia, where rice accounts for almost 70 percent of consumers’ caloric intake—the share of the less expensive coarse rice is shown to be rapidly decreasing in rice markets and the quality premium for the fine rice has been...

Feeding nine billion people by 2050 is a top priority on the global agenda for sustainable and inclusive development. This task is especially formidable in Asia, where more than two-thirds of the world’s poor and malnourished people live. Food prices in Asia are projected to remain high...

In disadvantaged districts of Bihar, one of the poorest states in India and an area where smallholders dominate, we find that there have been dramatic increases and rapid up-scaling of modern cold storages, triggered by market reform, investment subsidies, and better overall public service...

Supermarkets are traditionally viewed by development economists, policymakers, and practitioners as the rich world's place to shop. The three regions discussed here have the great majority of the poor on the planet. But supermarkets are no longer just niche players for rich consumers in the...