How much are watermelons in the fields or how much dealers earn on us: the secrets of pricing

Why do we have such expensive products and what influences this? Who and how much earns on the basic needs of the population? What structures govern pricing? These and many other questions are of keen interest among consumers. Our interlocutor Ilya will shed light on this situation.

Honestly about cheating your business

Before moving on to watermelons, I'll tell you a little about my business. I am engaged in the production and sale of ritual monuments from granite and marble. People like me are called "skinners" and shameless hucksters who make money on human misery. This is partly true, and I admit it honestly: until recently, I myself thought that we were unprincipled "grabbers". But literally three days ago, I was lucky to find out how much they make in the grocery business. I want to tell you about this briefly, but first I will shed some light on how much, on average, we “weld” on the sale of gravestones.

The production sounds too loud. In our business (at least in mine), they don't really strain. All products, and these are sets of monuments without portraits and inscriptions, are produced by only a few dozen factories in the country. We buy, arrange and sell them. Wrap up is from 70 to 100%! For example, a standard rectangular granite monument measuring 100 * 50 * 8, which includes a stele, a stand and a flower garden, costs 12 thousand rubles at the Rostov wholesale base. Since I buy in bulk, it costs me 13.5 thousand with delivery. For drawing a portrait with a machine, I pay 1,500 rubles. That is, it costs me 15 thousand rubles for a ready-made and decorated set.

Now about the retail prices. In my region (I will not name it), I sell such kits at a price of 25 to 30 thousand rubles. The price depends on the client's solvency: the main thing for me is not to miss it, and if the buyer has money right next to it, then I will give it for 25, but not less. If the client is solvent and wants to do “better”, I will sell the same thing, but at the maximum price tag. That is, from the sale of one standard kit, I earn 10-15 thousand rubles (the client pays for the installation). I earn a little more from carved steles, as I tell clients fairy tales about the work of carvers; although their services cost me no more than 4 thousand rubles per meter set. I can sell 25 and 40 different sets per month. Calculate the profit yourself. Of this amount, part, of course, goes to taxes, the seller's salary and the rent of premises, but this is not so significant - most of the income ends up in my pocket.

Now about the income from the sale of watermelons

But if we cover up to 100%, then resellers working in the field of the grocery business earn more money than ours! Three days ago I arrived from the Astrakhan region - the granary of watermelons and tomatoes. There I visited the fields, talked with farmers and, to put it mildly, was surprised at the wholesale prices for the main melons and gourds of the country. Now, in mid-August, a kilogram of watermelon from the field costs from 50 kopecks to 3 rubles! Large "sugar" varieties are sold at three rubles per kilo. 50 kopecks each - fodder; but they do not always go according to their intended purpose - these varieties under the guise of "cultural" can be bought quite cheaply somewhere on the market in Voronezh. The average price of a watermelon from the field is now 2 rubles per kilo. But at retail, they are sold far from modest prices. In central Russia, the average price for watermelons in mid-August is 25 rubles / kg. In Moscow supermarkets, they can cost even 45-60 rubles / kg!

Now about the logistics. To bring watermelons from the Astrakhan region to Moscow by hired transport costs 6 rubles per kilo; theirs - half the price. Let's calculate the cost of watermelon for sale in central Russia. Let's put on logistics the average value between delivery by hired transport and our own. Let it be 4.5 rubles per kilo. We add up the average price of a watermelon in the field and the average delivery price - 6.5 rubles / kg will come out. We will add 1 more ruble for loading and unloading. Thus, the average cost of watermelon will be 7 rubles 50 kopecks per kilogram.

And now the culmination of the process! If a reseller gets a kilogram of watermelon for 7.5 rubles, then at least 3-4 more prices are wound on top of it! Of those 25 rubles that we pay for a kilo of goods, 2 rubles goes to the farmer, 6.5 to the deliveryman and 16.5! - to resellers / intermediaries of all stripes! We ritualists are innocent sheep compared to food businessmen. And in this whole scheme, the farmer (producer) suffers the most. For his hard work, he receives the least of all the participants in this trade chain.

Why it happens

I asked a logical question to the farmer: “Why don't you sell your product directly? Hire a car, take watermelons to Moscow and sell at least 15 rubles per kilo! " He answered me that this was a useless exercise - he had already tried it and nothing good came of it. Over the years of capitalism, a certain scheme has developed in Russia, which is controlled by intermediaries. They give their price and keep it tight. It turns out that you can sell either to them; or the produce will rot in the field. If the farmer carries his goods himself, then he is unlikely to be able to sell it for a good price. All wholesale and retail food markets are closely related to the activities of resellers, and they fundamentally boycott farmers who do not agree to "cooperation". Attempts to transport goods independently to other regions were stopped by many in the middle of the 2000s. So everything here does not depend on the manufacturer, but on the intermediary. And it is the middleman who controls the pricing. Of course, this is not my native sphere and there may be inaccuracies in the calculations, but the principle itself is reflected accurately: for products from the fields, we overpay a lot of money to people who do not even put a finger on their finger, so that they grow.

Afterword

In describing the ritual and "watermelon" schemes, I never once mentioned exorbitant taxes and something else like that. For me personally, taxes are not a heavy burden. Yes, there are taxes, but they do not significantly affect the course of my business. So is the government. And in our sphere, a stone in a quarry is not more expensive than ordinary black soil; and there are structures that turn cobblestones into "gold"... But I do not see in this "the ominous paw of the government." There may be a lack of control over an insatiable business, but nothing more.

Who do you think is to blame for the five-fold markup on consumer goods - the government or business? Write in the comments - we will discuss!

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