The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the frequently repeated but thus far unsubstantiated conviction that prices would come down very soon. Then this massive increase in the price of essential commodities was welcomed, even by those who should know better, as being a sign of greater material prosperity in the country and the success of