Global retail markets feeling the bulge

According to IGD, a market research distributor, China is set to be the world's second largest food retail market by 2020, an increase driven by the increased spending power and changes in eating habits of the 1.3 billion population. China is fast closing in on the US global food retail market, with the US set to account for a (declining) 19% of the global market share according to 2020 forecasts, a fall of 3% from 2003 figures. China is forecast to almost double its proportion during this period from 8 to 15%. With expected growth in all global regions, the annual growth rate is predicted to be 4.8%, worth USD 6353 billion in 2020. The top five food retail markets in 2020 are predicted to be the US, China, Japan, India and Russia.