Let the Chinese eat what they can afford?

According to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group food brands, quick service chains and grocery retailers stand to benefit from a huge surge in sales across China. They describe this trend as an "unprecedented shift" in eating habits, largely fuelled by higher disposable incomes.

However, though productivity levels are expected to increase, there is also a genuine risk of price inflation all the way through the price chain and those suppliers who cannot act flexibly or nimbly risk losing out altogether if they are unable to keep up with rapidly changing spending patterns on food.