The production, distribution and marketing of fruit and vegetables for the urban market of Dar es Salaam

[摘要] This study reviews four main approaches to the study of food supply for the urban areas of the developing world and finds them to be narrow in their foci and limited by the demands of the disciplines in which they have been developed. In order to overcome these difficulties, this study proposes a synthesis of the approaches for the study of the supply of fruit and vegetables to Dar es Salaam. This approach examines the problem of food supply through the evidence of price and volume data, of interviews and interview surveys, of observations of the marketing process and it integrates interpretation of literature and the evidence of observers in the field.The only state control exerted on the marketing of fruit and vegetables in Dar es Salaam, has been that it must be sold through the Kariakoo Wholesale Market. This market's role in wholesale trading has declined in favour of the emerging informal sector, during a period of more general economic liberalisation, which took place in Tanzania outwith state control during the 1980s. However, Kariakoo maintains a central role, handling approximately half of the city's fruit and vegetables. The informal sector for wholesale trading of fruit and vegetables has moved to more peripheral markets, where it is possible to distribute the produce more rapidly and at less cost. At each stage in the marketing system the participants have a range of options open to them. The choice of channel into which they sell their produce, depends on a trade-off between costs and price, which varies according to the commodity to be sold. The result is that vegetables tend to favour Kariakoo Wholesale Market and the city council maintained retail markets, while fruit tend to be traded at the informal wholesale markets and may be sold retail either in a retail market or at a street stall. There is an increasing trend for produce to be sold to informal wholesale traders at the nearest market on entering the city.

[发布机构] University:University of Glasgow

[关键词] G Geography (General)