On 8/9/07, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >in india the biggest change is likely for fresh produce, where the current system is >incredibly bad, leading to enormous amounts of waste and spoilage (and people going >hungry, as a result). this doesn't necessarily rule out local vegerable vendors catering to >the "last mile", but the bulk of the distribution chain will be taken over by a system that >can provide better prices and quality.
I agree that fresh produce distribution systems are inefficient and wasteful...but I don't know about better prices or quality, at least, just yet...I *still* find that the produce brought from the villages to just outside my apartment building in the mornings is cheaper and fresher than anything I can get in the retail chain shops which have opened recently. And in Bangalore, in protest against the entry of the chains (rather short-sighted, imo) there has been a strike by the producers' association for the past week, further pushing up prices of fresh produce.... I do hope that retail chains will optimize the price and quality of fresh produce, in the course of time. These are the changes that I would like to live through...like I lived through the days of shortage of milk...and now see milk freely available everywhere. Deepa. On 8/9/07, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 05:56:07PM +0430, Deepa Mohan wrote: > > I think, as a consumer, I am extremely lucky to live in a country > > where this kind of retail model exists. This is, for me, the best > > grocery retail system. My shopping is not "fun" it's not "chaos", real > > or artificial, either. But it is, all the same, a very good > > experience. > > and if enough people think like that, such shops will survive. > > corner shops went out of business in europe because supermarkets sold > products at a better price (due to bulk purchase), quality (due to controls > and turnover) and time (since corner shops would stay open for limited hours, > due to labour laws or laziness). indeed, where permitted by law, corner shops > are pretty successful (e.g. in parts of britain, or belgium) when they're run > at odd hours by hard-working south asian families, but then they can in fact > afford to charge a premium for timing and access. > > in india the biggest change is likely for fresh produce, where the current > system is incredibly bad, leading to enormous amounts of waste and spoilage > (and people going hungry, as a result). this doesn't necessarily rule out > local vegerable vendors catering to the "last mile", but the bulk of the > distribution chain will be taken over by a system that can provide better > prices and quality. > > for dry goods with a long shelf life, it may be possible that local shops can > provide better value. > > in maastricht, i have within 500 m of where i live, great specialised shops > for fruit&veg, meat, cheese, chocolates, bakeries and organic / health > products, among other things. they are sometimes more expensive than the > supermarket (1 km away) but often better quality; i usually go to the > supermarket for bulk durable purchases or (very european problem) when the > local shops are shut. > > -rishab > > > > > > >
