ABSTRACT
Bangladesh is an agricultural country with a majority of its population still dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Reform measures have been carried out under the structural adjustment programme, in which the monopoly of state-owned enterprises in production and subsidies in agriculture has been curtailed to allow the market forces to govern agribusiness. The role of the government has been redefined to provide an environment conducive to private sector investments and initiatives, promote fair business practices, perform regulatory functions to facilitate coordination among economic agents and contribute to poverty alleviation. In Bangladesh, there are a few supermarkets in the main cities of Dhaka and Chittagong and these cater primarily for expatriates and urban elites. At present income levels, it will be some time before supermarkets spread across the country. Therefore, there is still time for traditional marketing chains to adapt and for policymakers to formulate policies to assist small-scale producers to work with the modern sector.
