Research Activities
Research Projects
Comparative analysis of watermelon export supply chains from Mekong countries to China (2020_1_40_006)
Outline
What happens when the destination of fresh fruit exports from developing countries switches to China? The supply chains of China's fresh fruit imports from neighbouring mainland Southeast Asia have developed differently from those of the north-south fresh fruit trade; the supply chains catered for China are more fragmented and are characterised with arm's length transactions between buyers and producers. Furthermore, remarkable differences exist within the supply chains of Chinese imports by fruit variety and country of origin. Taking cases of China's watermelon imports from three countries in the Mekong region (Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Vietnam) via land border, this research elucidates the ramifications of the market environment and government policies of exporting countries on supply chain structures and illustrates how these features of the exporting countries shape the relationship between local producers and Chinese buyers.
Period
April 2020 - March 2021
Members of the Research Project
Publications
- IDE Research Bulletin / Discussion Paper