Food Retailing and Its Contribution Towards FDI, Economic Growth and Employment in Bangladesh

Abstract

The food retail industry in Bangladesh is fragmented and underdeveloped compared to other South Asian countries. In fact, the food retail industry in Bangladesh is facing several major challenges. For instance, there is a shortage of experienced manpower, very high cost of capital, supply chain management problems, and so forth. Many organisations in Bangladesh folded their operations because they were burdened by losses. More interestingly, there is limited academic research that addresses these concerns. Therefore, this research will contribute to fulfil the existing gaps. The objective of this paper is twofold: first, to provide an overview of food retail sector in Bangladesh and key issues and problems it faces; second, to analyse the contribution food retail industry towards foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth, and labour force in Bangladesh. This study is informed by secondary data sets which were already available in the public domain and were analysed using associative techniques. The findings of the study suggest that despite the industry is suffering uphill challenges but, there is a significant interconnection between the performance of the food retail industry in Bangladesh, FDI, GDP growth and total labour force of the country. Moreover, the industry has the opportunity to overcome these challenges and thereby contribute further towards FDI, economic growth, and labour force in Bangladesh. The results of the study and will make the policy makers aware regarding existing problems within the industry and will help managers to think more deeply about re-organising the food retail industry.

Keywords: Bangladesh, FDI, Food retailing, Economic growth, Labour force.