ABSTRACT
Global value chain analyses have been instrumental in showing that many markets are far from being the anonymous meeting places of numerous sellers and buyers. Instead, access to global markets is often controlled by a limited number of gate keepers, namely global buyers that act as the spiders-in-the-web of global value chains. Supplying these global buyers has created new opportunities for exports from developing countries, leading to employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and sometimes upgrading of local producers. At the same time, global buyers’ sourcing strategies are based on procuring the highest value for the lowest possible price of a variety of components and products, and global buyers tend to wield effectively their negotiation power.
