Organised Fresh Food Retailing: Gains to Farmers and Consumers

Due to the growing economy and changing consumption patters, organised food retail chains have been penetrating fast into the Indian markets. Based on an ongoing primary survey, this paper has made a comparative analysis of gains to farmers and consumers from the organised fresh food marketing and retailing systems vis-àvis the traditional ones. It has also explored the likely risks incurred by farmers, retailers and consumers in the newly emerging retailing system. The findings have revealed that the organised fresh food retailing has potential in enhancing farmers’ income provided they are willing to make timely investments and undertake risks. However, price advantage does not appear to be conspicuous for consumers at large due to negligible difference between the price charged by the organised food retail chains and pushcart vendors along with high instability in prices. Besides, organised fresh food retail chains seem to be earning relatively higher retail margins, which have important implications for food security concerns. Based on the findings some broad inferences have been drawn.