Inflation has fallen in the eurozone for the first time in a year and a half. Spain is the European country with the lowest inflation; however, in just one year the price of the shopping basket has increased by 14%.
Angel Aldama, from the firm Frutas Aldama, knows that the price of vegetables experienced a strong increase in August and September due to weather phenomena, but now, he said, prices are very low. Aldama praised the fundamental role of the farmer but wanted to banish the myths that loom over intermediaries. "Intermediaries are seen as the bad guys of the distribution chain, but no one has bothered to ask us about our costs."
As an example, he spoke about the costs he incurred with his star product, broccoli. "Producers are paid 50 cents for their broccoli and they are sold in a store for 2 euro. That is 400% more than what producers are paid, but no one is getting rich or stealing from one another," he stated.
The fixed expenses intermediaries have in their warehouses include the cork container that is covered with ice so that the broccoli is hydrated and the cold chain is not lost. "That box costs me 1.90 euro and I put 6 kilos of broccoli in it, which means it costs me 32 cents per kilo." The workforce costs 20 cents, product losses amount to another 5 cents, and we can calculate that the costs of energy, the depreciation of machinery, or breakdowns also stands at 5 cents.
"That means that, in total, expenses stand at 62 cents. I pay 50 cents to the farmer and have 62 cents in expenses. My total expenses stand at 1.12 euro and I sell the product at 1.20. That means I make 8 cents, which I don't think is outrageous in the present circumstances."
Source: cadenaser.com