Power, value capture and redistribution by multinational traders in agri-food value chains in East and Southern Africa

The article examines how the expansion of multinational commodity traders and processors, along with the liberalization of cross-border markets in East and Southern Africa, has impacted agri-food value chains. It analyses the power relations in the midstream of these value chains, where traders and processors operate, by triangulating data on wholesale prices and trade with extensive interviews with market participants and government bodies. This extends and integrates theories of bargaining and institutional power with market power and applies them at a regional level. We find that large traders have been able to collectively exercise substantial market power to capture excessive margins. Together with extensive ad hoc trade restrictions, the traders’ manipulation of markets has also exacerbated price volatility. The companies’ institutional power is further evident in their influence over market information initiatives to reinforce their ability to coordinate in regional markets to redistribute value.