The rise of supermarkets and changing expenditure patterns of poor rural households case study in the Transkei area, South Africa

Since the late 1990s, the number of supermarkets in South Africa has been steadily growing. Due to a more effective and efficient management and procurement system, the supermarkets can benefit from economics of scale and sell food at a relative low price. In this paper, we present a case study of two villages in the Transkei area of South Africa. In these poor rural communities, the majority of households now buy their main food items from supermarkets rather than from local shops and farmers. While presenting an important step towards livelihood development and food security, these supermarkets form also a strong competitor for local agricultural sales. The supermarkets provide many food items at lower prices. With an increase in income, the households look for variety and exotism in their food products, and will most likely find this in the supermarkets, rather than the local stores. We argue therefore that development programs should focus on the local growers' access to the supermarket procurement systems. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.