Marketing and agricultural production in a "transition" economy : pork marketing chain from Nam Thanh to Hai Phong (Vietnam)

Abstract

In 1988, the Vietnamese government opted for a «renovation» policy leading the country from a centralized economy to a liberal one. State farms and collectivization were wiped out, giving way to a new agricultural landscape where land is allocated to peasants and where individual farming is fully-recognized. Traditional hog raising has subsisted but the way of marketing is getting in complete recomposition. We show how, without any subsector specific policy, people are getting organized when marketing hogs from the farm to the consumer. This article brings to the fore the importance of access to information and credit in a context full of uncertainty where urban consumption tends more and more towards lean meat. It underlines the fact that some traders use information and credit to become key-actors of the subsector. Therefore, we highlight that in a liberal context (without any State intervention), perfect market doesn’t emerge spontaneously. Finally, we discuss potential future trajectories for the Vietnamese swine industry.