Analysis of sales channels of agricultural products

Abstract: Over the past 20 years of reform and opening up, especially since the beginning of industrialization development in rural areas, a variety of adaptable comparisons have been formed in the sales process of agricultural products. Strong sales channels, but these channels also have areas that urgently need improvement. In the process of building and improving the sales channels of agricultural products and expanding the sales methods of agricultural products, we should pay attention to three aspects: the branding of agricultural products, the impact of my country's entry into the WTO on the sales of agricultural products in our country, and the transformation of government functions.

Keywords: Three Issues in Measures to Improve Sales Channels

Today, the purchase and sale system of most agricultural products has been liberalized, the total supply of agricultural products exceeds demand, and it is difficult to sell agricultural products in many areas. , analyzing and researching the sales channels of agricultural products and finding appropriate ways to improve the sales capabilities of sales channels are of extremely important practical significance for solving the urgent needs of farmers and other sales entities, increasing farmers' income, and promoting the development of rural industrialization.

1. Analysis of the advantages, existing problems and improvement methods of various agricultural product sales channels.

(1) Professional market sales

Professional market sales means to focus on selling agricultural products by establishing a professional wholesale market of agricultural products with great influence and strong radiation ability. Professional marketing is receiving more and more attention from all over the world due to its many advantages.

Specifically, professional market sales have the following advantages:

1. Concentrated sales and large sales volume. This sales method is undoubtedly a good choice for agricultural products that are dispersed and highly seasonal. Henan farmers mainly sell high-quality watermelons to various places through professional watermelon wholesale markets.

2. Respond quickly to information, providing conditions for timely and centralized analysis and processing of market information and making correct decisions.

3. Able to achieve rapid and centralized transportation, proper storage, processing and preservation to a certain extent. Solve the contradiction between the decentralized, regional and seasonal nature of agricultural product production and the concentrated, national and year-round consumption of agricultural products.

However, in actual operation, the professional market still has the following problems:

1. Market management contradictions are prominent and the market system is imperfect. In some professional sales markets, farmers' brokers, the main body of market sales, are engaged in purchasing and selling activities. One hand lowers the purchase price and the other hand raises the sales price. Not only farmers' interests are harmed, but also local market price signals are often distorted and management is chaotic. In addition, problems such as multiple branches and different standards for tax and fee administration also exist in some areas.

2. The information transmission channels are backward and the ability to analyze and process market information is poor. In some professional sales, the transmission of market information still relies to a large extent on oral transmission and telephone communication. There is a lack of highly interactive and wide-coverage tools such as the Internet; market information cannot be processed centrally.

3. The market supporting service facilities are not perfect and cannot effectively extend the market function.

In response to the above problems, the following improvement measures can be taken in the process of building a professional market:

1. Pay attention to the qualification examination of market operators, cultivate qualified agricultural product brokers, and carry out follow-up Training guidance.

2. Establish a unified and efficient market management system and separate the powers and relationships of the government, managers and operators.

3. Improve the information system. It is recommended that the government establish an information interaction platform, build an agricultural product sales website, and select outstanding brokers to collect information for the website; at the same time, attention should be paid to centralized processing of market information and market forecasts.

4. During the construction of the agricultural product wholesale market, attention should be paid to the improvement of market functions and the matching of various service facilities.

(2) Sales by sales companies

Sales by sales companies first purchase products from farmers through regional agricultural product sales companies and then sell them exported. The relationship between farmers and companies can be defined by a contract, or it can be a simple buyer-seller relationship. This sales method solves the contradiction between "small farmers" and "big markets" to a certain extent. In the process of developing agriculture, Xiayi County relied on the leading industries of each township to vigorously develop various sales companies, effectively solving the problem of difficult sales of agricultural products.

From a practical point of view, selling agricultural products through sales companies has the following advantages

1. Effectively alleviate the contradiction between "small farmers" and "big markets". Farmers can concentrate on production, while the sales company is dedicated to sales. The sales company can concentrate on sales and effectively analyze and predict market information.

2. Sales companies have the ability to concentrate agricultural products, which makes it possible to provide proliferative services such as preservation and processing of agricultural products, laying a good foundation for the development of rural industrialization.

However, judging from the actual operation process, there are still the following problems in selling agricultural products through sales companies:

1. High risk. Especially for the model that establishes the relationship between farmers and companies through contracts and contracts, this model has greater risks due to reasons such as the relatively complex organizational structure and weak contract binding. For example, when the supply of agricultural products exceeds demand and the contract price is higher than the market price, the company will not purchase agricultural products from contract households at the contract price. Conversely, when the supply of agricultural products exceeds demand, the market price is higher than the contract price, and farmers do not sell products to the contracted company in accordance with the contract, resulting in losses to the company's interests.

2. Administrative intervention exists in some places, especially in the restructuring process of state-owned circulation enterprises. There are also administrative intervention behaviors such as "lalang match", which prevents sales companies from operating normally.

3. There is a lack of effective legal regulations between marketing companies and farmers.

The following methods can be adopted to solve the above problems:

Explore new organizational models. For example, try out models such as "company, cooperative, and farmer" or "large company, farmer" to find ways to effectively avoid risks. At the same time, companies and farmers can also increase the cost of breaking the contract through special asset investment, mutual shareholding, cost prepayment or income prepayment, etc.

Transform government functions. The government should mainly adjust economic problems through taxation, credit and other levers and reduce direct administrative intervention; at the same time, it should support a group of influential "leading enterprises" through "supporting the strong and supporting the weak" and policy preferences. Promote the optimization of local resources and accelerate agricultural development.

Accelerate the construction of the legal system and improve rural economic regulations. At the same time, legal education for participants, especially farmers, should be strengthened.

(3) Cooperative Organization Sales

Cooperative organization sales refers to the sale of agricultural products through comprehensive or regional community cooperative organizations, such as circulation consortiums, trafficking cooperatives, professional associations and other cooperative organizations. . Purchasing and marketing cooperative organizations generally do not use the method of buying out and then selling agricultural products for farmers, but mainly use the method of entrusted sales. The required expenses are settled by withdrawing commissions and handling fees.

The relationship between purchasing and marketing cooperative organizations and farmers is one of sharing interests and sharing risks. The advantages of this sales channel are:

1. It is conducive to solving the problem of "small farmers" The contradiction between "and the big market" is also conducive to reducing risks.

2. Purchasing and marketing organizations can also centralize scattered agricultural products, providing the possibility for reprocessing and proliferation of agricultural products, and laying the foundation for industrial development.

Judging from the actual operation situation, there are mainly the following problems in selling agricultural products through cooperative organizations:

1. Cooperative organizations generally lack effective legal status as market entities, which is not conducive to solving the sales process. legal disputes arise.

2. Farmers’ voluntary and independent awareness of participating in cooperative organizations is not strong. The main motivation for the formation of various cooperative organizations is the coordination of administrative forces.

3. Since cooperative organizations generally lack funds, it is difficult to effectively develop the market.

4. Cooperative organizations lack motivation and have high decision-making risks.

The following measures can be taken to improve the above problems:

1. Improve rural economic regulations and establish a clear identity of cooperative organizations.

2. Provide guidance to farmers. To guide them to join cooperative organizations, no coercive measures should be taken during the guidance process, and they should be encouraged to join voluntarily through demonstration.

3. The government should provide support and assistance to cooperative organizations with development potential in terms of funds and manpower. At the same time, cooperative organizations themselves should also pay attention to the accumulation of funds.

4. Introduce a competition mechanism. For example, setting up more than one cooperative group of the same type can promote competition among cooperative organizations and enable them to better carry out their work. In the decision-making process of cooperative organizations, the decision-making layer should conduct necessary coordination and communication with members to reduce decision-making risks.

(4) Sales by large sales households

In the tide of reform and opening up, many "capable people" who made fortunes by trafficking and selling agricultural products emerged in rural areas. The agricultural products are purchased centrally and then sold to various places; some also contact foreign merchants to come to the production areas of agricultural products to directly purchase them.

From a practical point of view, this sales channel has the characteristics of strong adaptability and good stability. Specifically:

1. Strong adaptability. It can adapt to the sales of various agricultural products and focus on selling local agricultural products to various places. The emergence of large sales companies in Shaoxing, Zhejiang has not only solved the problem of difficulty in selling agricultural products, but also prospered the local economy.

2. Good stability. Since the income of large sales households directly depends on their sales volume, this fully mobilizes the enthusiasm of the "big sales households". They will try various methods, such as fixed-point sales and profit sharing with retailers, to stabilize sales.

However, as an individual agricultural product sales entity, we often encounter the following problems during market operations:

1. Poor information. It is difficult for large sales households transformed from farmers to effectively collect, analyze, and process market information and make market predictions in today's rapidly changing market information.

2. The risk is higher. For large households that export agricultural products, they will encounter many difficulties, such as weather, transportation, market conditions, etc.

3. "Big households" lack a deep understanding of market economic knowledge and have limited sales capabilities.

The following measures can be taken to improve the actual problems:

1. The government should improve the information system and provide necessary information guidance to large households.

2. Guide large investors to purchase commercial insurance. That is, "large households" pay a certain premium to the insurance company, and the insurance company will insure according to the actual situation.

3. Improve the sales capabilities of large sales accounts by hiring expert guidance, holding training courses, and holding regular experience exchange meetings.

(5) Direct sales by farmers

Direct sales by farmers means that farmers who produce agricultural products use their own manpower and material resources to sell agricultural products to surrounding areas. In recent years, Henan pumpkin farmers have adopted this sales channel more often when selling melons, and have achieved good results.

As an effective supplement to other sales methods, this method has the following advantages:

1. Sales flexibility. Farmers can organize sales on their own based on the sales situation in their area and market conditions in surrounding areas. This will not only help the timely sale of agricultural products in the region, but also help meet the living needs of people in surrounding areas.

2. Farmers gain great benefits. Farmers selling by themselves avoid the exploitation of brokers, middlemen, and retailers, and can enable farmers to obtain tangible benefits.

But the shortcomings of this sales channel are:

1. The sales volume is small. Farmers mainly rely on their own efforts to sell agricultural products, and it is difficult to achieve scale.

2. Sales volume is unstable. Although the "swarm of bees" phenomenon can be avoided in the long term, in the short term, supply is likely to exceed demand in a certain area and prices will fall, harming the interests of farmers.

3. Some farmers have poor legal and health awareness and are easily rejected by urban communities.

Some measures can be taken to remedy the above problems:

1. Establish direct sales points for agricultural products. Farmers should also learn certain marketing skills and ensure stable sales by establishing direct sales points and establishing good relationships with retailers.

2. Strengthen education for farmers and help them establish legal awareness, environmental awareness, and market awareness.

(6) Online sales and promotion

Online sales are sales through computer interconnection networks. As an emerging sales method, this sales method has been applied in some developed areas along the southeast coast and has achieved certain results. With the popularity of the Internet, it is foreseeable that this sales channel will become more and more important.

At this stage, this sales channel has the following advantages:

2. Large amount of information transmission and strong information interactivity. Through the Internet, merchants from all over the world can fully understand the information of agricultural products in the region and promote their purchasing and selling behaviors.

3. Save transaction costs. On the one hand, merchants do not have to go to the origin of agricultural products to understand the market and save costs, which will promote transactions. On the other hand, each sales entity does not have to travel here and there to collect information, saving sales costs.

However, from a broad perspective, online sales still have the following difficulties at this stage:

1. The network foundation is weak. So far, many regions do not have an influential agricultural product information website.

2. The penetration rate of Internet knowledge is low. In some areas, many farmer brokers have never seen a computer at all.

3. my country’s e-commerce and online sales are in their infancy, and there is a lack of complete laws and regulations to restrict and regulate online transactions. At the same time, there is a lack of sales entities with good reputation in many counties and districts.

The following measures should be taken to improve the above problems:

1. The government provides support for network development in terms of policies, funds and manpower. At the same time, all localities should seize the opportunity of agricultural information network construction to establish agricultural product sales websites with regional influence in a short period of time.

2. Increase information propaganda, actively popularize network knowledge, and enhance the network awareness and information awareness of cadres and the masses.

3. The government provides policy support to online sales entities to help them establish their reputation and solve problems such as the delivery of goods.

2. Three issues that should be paid attention to in the process of building and improving agricultural product sales channels

(1) Agricultural product branding issues.

With the improvement of people's living standards, people's consumption of agricultural products also tends to favor high-quality and famous brands. Famous brand products will play an important role in expanding sales, increasing product added value, and deriving family brands. The sales process is directly related to the establishment of the brand, so each sales entity should establish a "big picture" awareness and jointly establish and maintain local agricultural product brands.

Specifically, we should do the following:

1. Ensure product quality. Don't sell inferior products for immediate and local interests at the expense of long-term and overall interests.

2. Highlight product features. Only products with characteristics can gain a firm foothold in the market. All sales entities should coordinate their actions to jointly promote the characteristics of local agricultural products.

3. Pay attention to brand protection, and the government will establish a full-process brand management system, make good brand name decisions, trademark protection, etc.

(2) The impact of "joining the WTO" on the sales of agricultural products in my country and the corresponding adjustment of agricultural product sales channels.

Due to the small scale of my country’s agricultural production, low technical level, and poor product quality, especially the competitiveness of field agricultural products, it is difficult to compete with foreign agricultural products of good quality and low price. Therefore, it is foreseeable that foreign agricultural products will have a huge impact on my country's agricultural products market. But at the same time, we should also see that "joining the WTO" will expand the external sales space of my country's agricultural products. In the process of integrating into the world, we can also use both domestic and foreign resources and markets to increase the sales of my country's agricultural products and accelerate the development of China's agriculture.

In order to do a good job in exporting my country's agricultural products, it is necessary to adjust the sales channels of some agricultural products

1. Change the situation in which the import and export business of agricultural products is mainly undertaken by provincial foreign trade companies, and establish County-level foreign trade companies and make them the main body responsible for the import and export of agricultural products. The disadvantages of the sales model in which the import and export business of agricultural products are mainly undertaken by provincial foreign trade companies are: villages with good supply of goods will be given priority support, while towns without good supply of goods will be abandoned; some information from farmers is difficult to reflect to provincial foreign trade companies; provincial foreign trade It is impossible for the company to know every township in the province. County-level foreign trade companies are closer to farmers, and it is easier to communicate with township-level units and farmers.

2. Extend relevant sales channels and adopt various methods to increase sales. External sales windows for agricultural products should be established in coastal areas.

At the same time, we will stabilize and increase the sales of agricultural products through various forms such as compensation trade, contract trade, and futures trade.

(3) Correct the role of the government and transform its functions.

In the process of building and improving agricultural product sales channels and in the process of selling agricultural products, the government should mainly provide services. The key is to do a good job in the information system, market system, quality standard system, policy and regulation system and Construction of rural financial system.