From Producer-Sellers to Middlemen: Changes in Melanesian Marketplaces

Abstract

Marketplaces are ubiquitous throughout Melanesia, central to the lives and livelihoods of both rural and urban people. The dynamics of Melanesian marketplaces have changed considerably since their colonial introduction. The most significant has been the change from dominance by producer-sellers — people selling to the consumer produce they themselves have grown — to increasing prominence of intermediaries or 'middlemen' (gender inclusive). This In Brief focuses on growing intermediary participation in marketplaces in Papua New Guinea; however, this dynamic is also observable elsewhere in Melanesia. Show more