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Abstract
The development of supermarkets in Vietnam, as in other emerging countries, goes along with an
increasing concern on the part of purchasers for food quality. The paper investigates whether
farmer organisations are able to help small-scale farmers get access to supermarkets, and the role
that supermarkets and public support play in their emergence and development. It is based on
case studies involving a number of stakeholders marketing vegetables, flavoured rice and litchi
fruit in Vietnam. The interviews investigated patterns of horizontal and vertical coordination that
link farmers to supermarkets, the distribution of costs and benefits between farmers and traders
along the chains in relation to the strategy of quality differentiation. Eight farmer associations
that work in the form of private commercial organisations are regular supermarket suppliers for
the selected products. Their ability to supply supermarkets is related to the combination of
functions they make available to their members, especially as regards training to improve quality
(appearance, taste, safety), quality promotion and control, for which they receive public support,
as well as their participation in flexible contracts with supermarkets, shops and schools.
Supermarket supply through farmer associations increases farmer incomes when compared with
traditional chains, yet the situation is reported to change with the increase in supermarket
competition. The paper argues that changes in farmer organisation are not only due to supplying
supermarkets, but also to public and international support to food quality improvement, which
have been of benefit to supermarkets.