A Brief Analysis of Farmer-Supermarket Direct Supply and Vegetable Direct Sales Models

Agriculture is heavily influenced by natural factors and climate change, and is basically dependent on the weather, so agricultural production and prices fluctuate considerably. Because vegetables are also affected by transportation, storage and other factors, price fluctuations are even more frequent. Every year there are news reports of vegetable prices rising and falling. Last year the prices of Chinese cabbage and celery were relatively high; this year, because prices are too low, farmers stand to lose money. Moreover, vegetables have another characteristic: large output and large consumption. For example, if a family consumes 1 jin of meat per week, then its vegetable consumption will be around 10 jin. Therefore, fluctuations in vegetable prices have a great impact on both consumers and producers.

Among the many methods for addressing vegetable price fluctuations, farmer-supermarket direct supply is an effective one. Farmer-supermarket direct supply means that vegetable growers bypass wholesalers and supply supermarkets directly for sale. It has played a positive role in alleviating the problem of unsold agricultural products, reducing circulation links and lowering vegetable prices.

However, many problems have been encountered in promoting farmer-supermarket direct supply. The main one is that the current "small-scale production, small-scale circulation" of vegetables does not match the requirements of supermarkets. Supermarkets have relatively strict requirements for the vegetables that enter their sales channels. First, they generally have high requirements for the quality and appearance of the goods sold, and products that do not meet the standard are screened out or even rejected. Second, in picking, storage and transportation, they also require that the freshness of agricultural products be guaranteed, achieving a seamless connection from the field to the supermarket shelf. But farmers basically pack things together on the spot without standards, and their planting, harvesting and storage methods are also traditional, making it difficult to meet supermarket requirements.

At present, apart from a few areas that can meet supermarket requirements, many other areas find it difficult to do so. For example, Shouguang City in Shandong Province is a famous hometown of vegetables, with a high degree of specialization in vegetable production, relatively high-quality vegetable associations and a professional logistics park. Its products are basically sold by order, and in addition to supplying the local area, they also supply cities such as Beijing, truly achieving farmer-supermarket direct supply.

So, under the current circumstances, what should dispersed vegetable growers do? We might as well draw on the experience of the United States.

The United States is a country with highly developed agriculture. The main circulation characteristics of its agricultural products are: centralized production, dispersed supply. In the sales process of American agricultural products, the concept of "direct sales" is very widespread, and the vast majority of vegetables and other agricultural products are sold to consumers through large supermarkets and chain food stores. Statistics from 2010 show that about 80% of American agricultural products go directly from the place of production through logistics distribution centers to retailers, while sales through wholesalers account for only about 20%.

But the same problem also exists in the United States: the "threshold" for vegetables to enter supermarkets is relatively high. In addition to requirements similar to those in China, farmers are also required to have received food safety training, to purchase product liability insurance or to obtain third-party guarantees, and many small farmers are shut out. Many farmers with ample time or small farm owners simply face consumers directly and try sales methods such as "farmers' markets," pick-your-own tours and community farms.

The "farmers' market" is somewhat similar to China's morning market, where at fixed times in designated blocks or squares small farmers sell vegetables directly to consumers. Managers charge farmers a small management fee. Pick-your-own tours have developed very quickly in China in recent years. Pick-your-own tours in the United States are also like those in China: on weekends or holidays, consumers go to vegetable production sites to pick and buy by themselves. Community farms are when farmers set up relatively small direct sales outlets in larger residential communities.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that the methods used by small farmers in the United States to sell vegetables directly can basically all be applied in China. However, this requires support in terms of government policy. For example, the selection of "farmers' markets" and the construction of community farms cannot be separated from government support. At the same time, various localities can also use "affordable supermarket construction" to promote direct vegetable sales.