The balance of power in rural marketing networks: a case study of snake trading in Cambodia

Abstract

Producers in small-scale rural markets often receive unfavourable prices for their goods as a result of more powerful market participants. This study uses a combination of price analysis and interview data to assess the position of snake hunters in the aquatic snake market from Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia. Despite the hunters’ dependence on intermediary traders for market access and credit, the evidence implies that they are not powerless participants. Intermediary traders operate under high competition as a result of the increasing scarcity of snakes and therefore, despite interlocked credit and snake markets, offer relatively high prices to hunters.