Wholesalers and the transformation of the “hidden middle” of the aquaculture value chain in Bangladesh

IF 4.5 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Security Pub Date : 2025-11-04 DOI:10.1007/s12571-025-01605-w

Hazrat Ali, Ben Belton, Mohammad Mahfujul Haque, Ricardo Hernandez, Khondker Murshed-e-Jahan, Liz Ignowski, Thomas Reardon

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Abstract

The rapid growth of aquaculture in Bangladesh over the past 30 years has been accompanied by a proliferation of wholesalers. Wholesalers are often assumed in academic and public discourse to be exploitative and inefficient: extracting rents rather than driving technological change. This view gives rise to development programs that seek to bypass marketing intermediaries or upgrade their practices. However, there has been little rigorous research on the behavior of wholesalers and its implications for outcomes of value chain performance, including food security. To address this gap, we implemented a statistically representative survey of 229 aquatic food wholesalers in 31 markets in one of Bangladesh’s most important aquaculture zones. We found the following. (1) The wholesale segment of the aquaculture value chain has grown rapidly. (2) Markets are increasingly competitive, with open auctions leading to disintermediation and transparent pricing. (3) Wholesale businesses operate on thin margins. (4) Very little food loss or waste occurs in the farm, wholesale, or retail value chain segments in the study zone. (5) Trading aquaculture products generates substantial employment for men but little for women. Contrary to popular belief, the midstream of the aquaculture value chain in southern Bangladesh is dynamic and efficient. The paper contributes to a growing literature highlighting the contributions that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the “hidden middle” segments of agri-food value chains make to food security.

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批发商和孟加拉国水产养殖价值链“隐藏中间”的转型

过去30年来，孟加拉国水产养殖业的快速增长伴随着批发商的激增。在学术和公共话语中，批发商通常被认为是剥削性的、效率低下的：榨取租金，而不是推动技术变革。这种观点导致了寻求绕过营销中介或升级其实践的发展计划。然而，很少有严谨的研究批发商的行为及其对价值链绩效结果的影响，包括食品安全。为了解决这一差距，我们对孟加拉国最重要的水产养殖区之一的31个市场的229家水产食品批发商进行了具有统计代表性的调查。我们发现了以下内容。(1)水产养殖价值链批发环节增长迅速。(2)市场竞争日益激烈，公开拍卖导致非中介化和透明定价。(3)批发企业利润微薄。(4)研究区内的农场、批发或零售价值链环节很少发生食物损失或浪费。(5)水产养殖产品贸易为男性创造了大量就业机会，但为女性创造的就业机会很少。与普遍看法相反，孟加拉国南部水产养殖价值链的中游是充满活力和高效的。越来越多的文献强调了处于农业食品价值链“隐藏中间”环节的微型、小型和中型企业（MSMEs）对粮食安全的贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Food Security FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

6.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Food Security is a wide audience, interdisciplinary, international journal dedicated to the procurement, access (economic and physical), and quality of food, in all its dimensions. Scales range from the individual to communities, and to the world food system. We strive to publish high-quality scientific articles, where quality includes, but is not limited to, the quality and clarity of text, and the validity of methods and approaches. Food Security is the initiative of a distinguished international group of scientists from different disciplines who hold a deep concern for the challenge of global food security, together with a vision of the power of shared knowledge as a means of meeting that challenge. To address the challenge of global food security, the journal seeks to address the constraints - physical, biological and socio-economic - which not only limit food production but also the ability of people to access a healthy diet. From this perspective, the journal covers the following areas: Global food needs: the mismatch between population and the ability to provide adequate nutrition Global food potential and global food production Natural constraints to satisfying global food needs: § Climate, climate variability, and climate change § Desertification and flooding § Natural disasters § Soils, soil quality and threats to soils, edaphic and other abiotic constraints to production § Biotic constraints to production, pathogens, pests, and weeds in their effects on sustainable production The sociological contexts of food production, access, quality, and consumption. Nutrition, food quality and food safety. Socio-political factors that impinge on the ability to satisfy global food needs: § Land, agricultural and food policy § International relations and trade § Access to food § Financial policy § Wars and ethnic unrest Research policies and priorities to ensure food security in its various dimensions.