The European experience of the organization of sale of fruit-and-vegetable production is considered.
January – time of tendering process for delivery of fruit-and-vegetable production to state institutions. For farmers and small agricultural enterprises in the regions remote from big cities, and therefore without the developed intermediary network, the state purchases – the main sales channel.
In existing tender system producers note one powerful shortcoming. Thus that gathering vegetables and fruits comes to an end in October, tenders are carried out only in January of the next year. And before the producer there is a choice: or to realize production right after collecting (during this period of the price the lowest) or to put on winter storage counting on a tender prize that is accompanied by a great risk.
The farmer or small agricultural enterprise have no possibility to win the tender for some reasons, main from which are: absence at the small producer of possibility to satisfy competitive conditions on volume of production and the range; territorial remoteness of the majority of producers from the city, lack of warehouses at them in the city that does impossible providing with the specified producers of necessary periodicity of deliveries of production. Thus, in most cases, the tender will be won not by small producers from areas, and the intermediary enterprises.
In case the producer loses the tender, a question of ways of realization of production which already considerably lost a trade dress, becomes a key problem of further functioning of the enterprise. Practice shows that in the absence of the turned-out sales channels the considerable part of domestic vegetables and fruit simply decays in warehouses.
In this regard the European experience of the organization of sale of fruit-and-vegetable production is especially interesting. When domestic experts argue that development of market structures in trade in fruit-and-vegetable production probably after transition of the most part of commodity turnover from the street markets in retail network, Londoners buy vegetables and fruit in the next farmer markets. However the British farmer markets cardinally differ from our markets.
The farmer markets in England are carried out once a month, in London – once a week. Thus special farmer shops work 7 days for a week. Farmers and small agricultural enterprises see the most effective sales channel in such markets and for the purpose of its maximum development create special associations. So, for example, the British National Association of the farmer markets (NationalAssociationofFarmersMarkets) is engaged in formation of the new farmer markets, represents interests of the farmer markets in local and state authorities of the power and helps to solve the current problems. Certainly, the urgency of transferring of the British experience of the farmer markets in the Ukrainian realities at this stage of development of agrarian market structures is doubtful. However it is necessary to consider that with growth of the average per capita income of the population volumes of the agricultural production made in priusadebny farms decrease. And still intermediary structures thanks to which the main part of commodity turnover of agricultural products will fall over time on supermarkets actively develop. This way last century there passed farmer and agricultural enterprises of Europe. And today, when communication between the producer and an ultimate consumer is broken almost off, good profitability activity of intermediaries and retail network differs only. The producer entirely depends on the state subsidies.
Thus, at rather favorable development of economic processes in Ukraine over time the same problems will be inherent in domestic farms.
In England, as well as in Europe as a whole, there is a set of farmer associations in which members in common develop and master marketing channels. So, for example Farmer Retail Trade Association (TheFarmRetailAssociation) is engaged in assistance to young farmers in development of such sales channels typical for England, as trade through farmer shops; Internet trade; production delivery home and scheme of a basket (Boxscheme).
The last option provides rather continuous delivery of the freshest production of the farmer (in a basket) home or for work that is very convenient for busy persons. This winter the British farmers offer in baskets a celery, topinambur or a kohlrabi, accompanying these products the corresponding recipes. The price of such type of service for the client – from 5 pounds a week, depending on basket and supplier structure. Apples, potatoes, onions napiform and a leek, a parsnip, a swede, Brussels sprout, carrots use great popularity in the winter farmer markets of London. There can be an impression that the sales channels based on direct sales, are ineffective for farmers. However, by estimates of already mentioned Farmer Retail Trade Association, annual commodity turnover of the British farmers on direct sales makes over 1 billion pounds.
(On Agroperspektiva magazine materials).