In addition to affecting major restaurants, restaurants and supermarkets across the country, this epidemic in the cold winter has also affected anxious vegetable farmers huddled in the corners behind them. They stood helplessly in the field, looking at the frozen cabbage, many of which had rotted in the ground. In Zhifang Town, Henan Province alone, 20,000 tons of vegetables are unsaleable. Even if they are sold at low prices, they cannot find a market, so they have no choice but to dig them into the ground and fertilize them. City people eat high-priced vegetables, but the vegetables of vegetable farmers are unsaleable and rotten. Which part of the process is wrong? Who made the money? As everyone knows, on the other side of the city, vegetable farmers are also worried about the unsalable vegetables of their 20,000 acres, including deformed cabbage, rotten garlic, and wilted milk cabbage. In Handan, Hebei, a farmer couple rode a tricycle and took 1,300 kilograms of spinach to the vegetable market, but the vegetable vendor bought it for 15 yuan. According to statistics, Zhifang Town has sold 17,000 tons of vegetables and has 25,000 tons in stock.
Tens of thousands of tons of vegetables are unsaleable and customers can’t come. The supply chain is broken. What exactly is going on? Follow me and find out.
Local specialties turn into "golden lumps" to polish the landmark business cards of agricultural products
Source: Economic Daily
When people mention the three northeastern provinces, people will always think of the fertile black The land, the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, which are dyed with layers of forests, and the tall grain piles... As Beidacang, agriculture plays an important role in the regional economy of Northeast China. Creating and maintaining the brand image of Northeast's landmark agricultural products is crucial to the high-quality development of agriculture in Northeast China.
"A meal of five rice will make you forget the smell of wine and meat." Take Wuchang rice, the most famous landmark agricultural product in Northeast China, as an example. The total annual output of Wuchang rice is about one million tons, but the sales volume of products bearing the name Wuchang rice on the market reaches tens of millions of tons. This means that there is a 90% chance that the Wuchang rice consumers buy is fake. Not only Wuchang rice is favored by consumers because of its excellent quality, but the "golden business cards" of many geographical indication products have been repeatedly counterfeited by "Li Gui". "Free riding" situations often occur in printed packaging, and the link titles of online stores are also "similar to famous brands" to confuse the audience. The confusion, hard-to-distinguish authenticity, and uneven quality and price leave consumers at a loss as to what to do. Bad money drives out good money, good products cannot be sold at good prices, and it also has a negative impact on the reputation of authentic products themselves.
Unlike corporate brands, it is more difficult to establish and maintain the brand value of agricultural products branded by their origin. To solve this problem, we cannot just rely on "promoting knowledge to consumers on how to choose authentic products", but also need to build protective barriers for landmark agricultural products from the source.
First of all, we must promote the establishment of a complete authentic product traceability and anti-counterfeiting system to achieve full-process control, information feedback and quality traceability from plots, planting, field management, production and processing to the dining table, and effectively protect regional brands. Secondly, it is necessary to improve and strictly implement standards covering all aspects of production, processing, logistics, warehousing, sales, etc., so that the entire process can be followed, control the quality of landmark agricultural products, enhance product differentiation, and effectively enhance the market for agricultural products. added value. Thirdly, it is necessary to improve management capabilities, establish a management system for quality and safety testing, supply and consumer rights protection, resolutely crack down on counterfeit and shoddy products and geographical indication trademark infringements, and rectify and standardize market order. At the same time, we should build a credible agricultural product supply platform, or cooperate with e-commerce platforms to open certified official stores to expand exclusive sales channels for high-quality agricultural products, so that consumers can buy conveniently and with confidence. Finally, we integrate resources through market-oriented means such as establishing enterprises and cooperating with leading enterprises, extending the industrial chain, improving the value chain, and building a supply chain.
In short, building and maintaining landmark agricultural product brands requires the participation of multiple parties. Through strict standard formulation and implementation, standardized traceability and quality management, precise digital marketing, higher-level services, etc., the landmark The gold content and added value of agricultural products continue to increase. Only in this way can we maintain the "golden brand" of landmark agricultural products and play an important role in strengthening industries, enriching farmers, and promoting high-quality development.
(Source of this article: Economic Daily author Liu Hui is the president of Jingdong Consumer and Industrial Development Research Institute)
20,000 tons of vegetables in Henan are unsalable and rotting in the fields, but urbanites eat them With high-priced vegetables, who made the money?
In the cold winter, this epidemic has not only affected major restaurants, restaurants and supermarkets across the country, but also the anxious vegetable farmers huddled in the corner behind them.
They stood helplessly in the field, looking at the frozen and hard cabbage, many of which had rotted in the ground. In Zhifang Town, Henan Province alone, 20,000 tons of vegetables are unsaleable. Even if they are sold at low prices, they cannot find a market, so they have no choice but to dig them into the ground and fertilize them.
Every winter at the end of the year, we always encounter such contradictory scenes. City people eat high-priced vegetables, but the vegetables of vegetable farmers are unsaleable and rotten. Which part of the process is wrong? Who made the money?
Why do vegetable farmers always sell their vegetables cheaply?
With the outbreak of the epidemic, many cities have been under lockdown, which has caused many people to say, “We can’t afford to eat food, and food prices are getting more and more expensive!” If you come across one or two pieces of promotion, Green vegetables, I quickly put them in the shopping cart, as if I got a big deal.
As everyone knows, on the other side of the city, vegetable farmers are also worried about the unsalable vegetables of their 20,000 acres, including deformed cabbage, rotten garlic, and wilted milk cabbage.
In Handan, Hebei, a farmer couple rode a tricycle and took 1,300 kilograms of spinach to the vegetable market, but the vegetable vendor bought it for 15 yuan. When asked why, the vegetable vendor said disdainfully that some of their vegetables were wilted and if I didn't collect them, they would have no choice but to dump them into the garbage pit.
When asked by reporters, a farmer in Dengzhou spread his hands and lamented that he couldn't sell even 60 cents, so he lost everything and never got back his capital.
Not only Zhifang Town, but also tens of millions of tons of vegetables in the surrounding Luohe Linying, Nanyang Dengzhou, and Shangqiu Minquan counties cannot find a market. Xingjian Village in Inner Mongolia also has a backlog of 130,000 kilograms of blueberries, 8 Thousands of pounds of red onions. What is the reason why vegetables are sold at low prices every year?
The most deadly thing is probably the impact of this wave of epidemic. In previous years, these villages and towns had fixed large-scale vegetable merchants or vegetable vendors from small companies who came to purchase vegetables regularly. The purchasers placed orders in advance and negotiated prices. The vegetable farmers only needed to wash the vegetables and tie them into bundles, and drive them there one by one. The deal is done.
Unfortunately, in the second half of the year, the epidemic spread almost across the country. Restaurants, restaurants, and even breakfast shops around villages and towns were closed for several months in a row, and citizens were "squatting at home" one after another. Without consumption, there is no demand. Even vegetable vendors are locked down at home, and the entire existing vegetable chain is broken.
Even if you want to sell to the community and citizens squatting at home, it is even more difficult, because the epidemic has cut off the smoothness of cargo transportation. Especially when a truck is on a highway, if you accidentally pass through a medium- to high-risk area and a red code pops up on your phone, you must immediately observe where you are or be advised to return.
Over time, the cost of transporting vegetables has skyrocketed. Even if vegetable farmers raise prices, few drivers are willing to take orders. After all, once it is blocked, the vegetables will not be delivered to the buyers on time, which will be another huge loss.
What’s even worse is that once a village or town is designated as a high-risk area, the food in that area will basically die. Communities and vegetable vendors would rather buy vegetables from low-risk areas at high prices than wholesale these so-called "virus vegetables."
Due to the high-speed closure, white radish in Dengzhou, Henan Province has dropped to 8 cents per pound and is still unsalable. Vegetable farmers are so worried that they can't sleep all night.
In addition to the epidemic, information occlusion and single sales channels are also important reasons that hinder vegetable sales.
According to statistics, Zhifang Town has sold 17,000 tons of vegetables so far, and there are still 25,000 tons in stock. In order to sell vegetables as quickly as possible, the villagers were forced to learn how to shoot videos and act as anchors for delivering goods.
These elderly villagers, who are already over 50 years old, stand awkwardly in front of the camera holding cabbage and use poor Mandarin to promote their products.
Big yellow bold characters filled the screen, with vegetable prices, addresses and contact information.
Prior to this, these farmers almost always sold their products directly to the nearest vegetable market. Regardless of whether they are high or low, they will not exceed a radius of 5 kilometers. Coupled with the isolation of information networks, it is impossible to obtain market information in a timely manner and open up diversified vegetable sales channels. This is also an important reason why vegetables are unsaleable year after year and vegetable prices are often sold at low prices.
Who made the money?
On the other hand, the citizens who are locked down at home are grabbing high-priced vegetables, while at the same time they are worried that they cannot sell them. Which part of the process went wrong, and who was the main source of the food money?
What is most likely to come to mind is the so-called "second-rate dealers" making money from the price difference. You know, from the time vegetables are harvested from the fields to the time they are neatly packaged and placed on supermarket shelves, they may change hands several times, and the price of vegetables has doubled several times. This enriches the middlemen but leaves little money in the pockets of the vegetable farmers. Only a meager profit was saved.
Most of the vegetable farmers have little education, are not good at using information networks, and do not know how to expand new sales channels. Almost all of them have followed the same old path for decades, purchasing goods cheaply from vegetable vendors.
It is unknown how much the vegetable vendor will sell to the next vendor, and how many wholesalers, retailers, and vegetable shops are involved.
In addition to closed sales channels, the profit margins of growing vegetables are also very low. As far as growing a crop of vegetables is concerned, sowing seeds, weeding, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting take up a large part of the cost and energy. If long-distance freight is shipped, packaging and freight are also added, and the profit margin itself is small. If it doesn't sell well and is lost, it's equivalent to losing everything.
According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, vegetable prices have more than doubled from 2011 to 2018, but the profit margin of the vegetable industry has dropped by nearly 45%. This cold number seems to hint to us again why vegetable prices are pushed up, where the profits are intercepted, and how much hard-earned money the vegetable farmers really earn.
From vegetable planting, selling, purchasing, and pricing, vegetable farmers are always on the weak side. They can neither control vegetable prices nor negotiate to reduce the resale process of vegetables. What is the future and hope of vegetable farmers?
Where is the way out for vegetable farmers?
In fact, using reverse thinking, urbanization is getting faster and faster, and agricultural area will be more valuable in the future. According to market principles, the scarcer the resource, the more economic value it has. The profit growth potential of vegetables will continue. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with growing vegetables. Instead, vegetable farmers can seize this opportunity to improve their knowledge and abilities to expand the profit margins of vegetables.
First of all, we should rely on the resources we can rely on, and rely more on government support and help. In recent years, the country has been vigorously supporting the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Many villages and towns have taken advantage of preferential policies and technical support to engage in technical agriculture and live broadcast of agricultural products. For example, technical training courses are specially set up for farmers to teach them how to optimize crop planting and obtain timely supplies. Market information.
Some self-media platforms also support live broadcasts and video sharing in the field of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and have also produced special tutorials on starting from scratch. In addition to promoting your own vegetables in the video, the number of video views has increased. It is also an additional income.
If you still find it difficult, you can ask your children to help with the operation, let them become your own teachers, make more use of self-media networks, and over time, you may be able to build a brand and reputation for your own vegetables. Establish a stable fan base and customer base.
Secondly, you must also take the initiative to create creative agriculture. Think about it, if you keep selling fresh vegetables according to the old routine, the price ceiling will definitely be limited. Can we search more channels, start from our own link, package vegetables and update products? There is a crude economic principle: the more packaged the product, the more expensive it is.
Can you link up with cooperative manufacturers to make your own vegetables into "freeze-dried vegetables", fast food lunch boxes and other semi-finished products?
In this way, the price and profit margin of vegetables will definitely increase several times, and secondly, the shelf life will be longer.
Of course, there must be many unknown difficulties to overcome in each step. However, in this rapidly changing era, information barriers have been broken compared to the past ten years. We can definitely take the initiative. We must not only actively seek foreign aid, but also take the initiative to improve ourselves, so that we can sell better and better vegetables and live a better life.
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