Year: 1979
Type: book
Abstract: SununaryThis is a descriptive analysis of the comme rcial distribution of foodstuffs in the Kingdom of Tonga.It focuses on the sale of foods in retail stores and in the produce market in Nuku 'alofa.The study describes the size and characteristics of retail operat ions , the wholesaling of foods , the personal characteristics of retail operators, the nature of stocks and the sales of types of foods .The study also looks at the produce market , examining the characteristics of vendors and their produce as well as those of the buyers and their purchases .It was fotmd that virtually everything sold in retail stores is imported and virtually every thing sold in the produce market is locally produced.Most retail stores are very small affairs , llll dercapitalized and lfilstable .Mo st vendors in the produce market are semi-subsistence and semi conunercial growers , but with the growth of urbaniz at ion there is a move toward mo re commercial farming and toward the rise of middlemen .Tongan consumers strongly pre fer the local root starches to imported equivalents , but much of the mon ey expended on food is spent buying imported proteins.vTh is monograph , plus two others to be published , are joint publications of The University of the South Pacific 's Centre for Applied Studies in Development and The Australian Na tional University's Development Studies Centre .The research on wh ich th is monograph is based was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC ) through a grant to The University of the South Pacific (USP) and the volume is published with the support of the IDRC .Acknowl edgemen ts To those who helped me in the course of my research I owe much gratitude .Dr Jacques Amy ot, of the International Developmen t Research Centre of Canada , not only bore the overall responsibility for the research proj ect but also gave me personal attention which I particularly appreciate.Other members of the proj ect , Professor R. Gerald Ward and Dr Terry McGee of the Australian National Un iversity and Mr Raj esh Chandra of the University of the South Pacific assisted me in both professional and personal ways .At the University of the South Pacific Mr Derek Medford of the Centre for Ap plied Developmen t Studies , Messrs Cros Walsh and A. Kn ox did a great deal of service for me .Here in Tonga Messrs Tamo 'ua Kavapalu , Ko lo Ngun gut au , Isileli Palu, Semisi Siu , Sione Siu and Maliu Seleti helped out as research assistants .Mr Sitiveni Halapua did a lot as an associate
Author: Epeli Hauʹofa
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, No poverty
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W618456608