Thursday 7 May 2015

Motivations for the new international market being constructed in Kinshasa

There's a new market being constructed in Kinshasa at the moment.  It will be a centre for intermediaries to buy from farmers, and then sell on to further buyers.  The 36,000 square metre market will provide refrigeration facilities, and aims for international standards in packaging.

I am not sure of the thinking behind the project.  One rationale may be substituting domestic goods for foreign goods, and another may be increased international exporting of more finished products.  If the next business up the value chain has greater market power than farmers, then the latter may be losing much of the potential value of their goods at present.  Catering for the oil-rich country of Congo-Brazzaville on the other side of the river is another likely motivation for meeting international standards.

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