Potato Prices.

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
I like to think I'm friends with the wholesalers, I speak to each day.

Yes, I was being a tad derogatory. But I contend there is a difference with your wholesale market trader and you as a retail customer than a merchant buying spuds ex farm on a truck basis. The merchant does not want to lose customer base of chip shops or wholesale market stands - so will (whether consciously or not) seek to pay the least he has to from the farmer seller to ensure competitiveness with his retail outlets. And as thus any 'snippets' that can be dropped into conversation, such as 'trade is slow' are to affect the subconcious of the seller, even if they are true. I contend therefore a farmer cannot be a 'friend' when it comes to the business of actually selling spuds.

Best wishes,
 

Sonoftheheir

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
West Suffolk
Spot on @Hindsight

It’s all a big game isn’t it? If I could give one piece of advice it would be to never ask the merchant how trade is!

Remember the merchant has to maintain his margin and allow enough margin for the merchant who buys off him to supply the end user!

I find it better to ask my bag supplier how the job is.
 
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Austin7

Member
I hesitate to disagree with both Hindsight and Sonoftheheir but they miss a trick. personal relationships are vital in business. I can remember our longest standing customer buying our spuds when he left school and I could hardly have been ten, later we both became fathers on the same day, 60 years on I stood round his grave. Yes he did too often say “trade is slow” mainly because it was. Today we still have close friendships with our customers, I don’t understand how you can operate on a purely adversarial basis. When we started selling this season we visited our key customers and they are more than happy to tell us what they are paying for spuds from their different suppliers, show us the quality and also what they are making wholesale. If you can gain the trust of your customers to the extent that they let you look into their business, then you have a business friendship. Without it you are lost in the market and you end up like so many posters on this thread asking what the price is, as soon as you do that you are doomed. Business friendships enable you to trust feedback as genuine not as Hindsight suggests “ subconscious” mind games.
 
Yes, I was being a tad derogatory. But I contend there is a difference with your wholesale market trader and you as a retail customer than a merchant buying spuds ex farm on a truck basis. The merchant does not want to lose customer base of chip shops or wholesale market stands - so will (whether consciously or not) seek to pay the least he has to from the farmer seller to ensure competitiveness with his retail outlets. And as thus any 'snippets' that can be dropped into conversation, such as 'trade is slow' are to affect the subconcious of the seller, even if they are true. I contend therefore a farmer cannot be a 'friend' when it comes to the business of actually selling spuds.

Best wishes,

I go to Sheffield & Bradford wholesale markets 5 or 6 days a week as a supplier & customer, sometimes there for an hour. Sort of get a feel of how the trade is & a bit of banter.

People who complain about supermarkets do forget the old rogues who dominated the wholesale markets in the 60's & 70's. I think it is a better place now (allbeit much smaller scale)
 
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Trying

Member
Just had our weekly Saturday night takeaway. Chips were Sagitta no problem with them at all. Asked how much a bag he’s paying as I do every now and again. £8.50. Up 50p this week. 340 a ton. These were from a farm just down the road.
we need the farm prices to rise a bit. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sagitta are around the £200 mark. So a minimum of 120 a ton for the merchant. I know everyone has to make a pound.
 

Luke20

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
South lincs
Just had our weekly Saturday night takeaway. Chips were Sagitta no problem with them at all. Asked how much a bag he’s paying as I do every now and again. £8.50. Up 50p this week. 340 a ton. These were from a farm just down the road.
we need the farm prices to rise a bit. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sagitta are around the £200 mark. So a minimum of 120 a ton for the merchant. I know everyone has to make a pound.
Think the merchants need to be paying £250/t if they are selling them on for that much!
 

chipchap

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
South Shropshire
Just had our weekly Saturday night takeaway. Chips were Sagitta no problem with them at all. Asked how much a bag he’s paying as I do every now and again. £8.50. Up 50p this week. 340 a ton. These were from a farm just down the road.
we need the farm prices to rise a bit. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sagitta are around the £200 mark. So a minimum of 120 a ton for the merchant. I know everyone has to make a pound.
That should equate to £6 wholesale to the farmer, at the very least ie £240 a tonne
 

Trying my best

Member
Mixed Farmer
Just had our weekly Saturday night takeaway. Chips were Sagitta no problem with them at all. Asked how much a bag he’s paying as I do every now and again. £8.50. Up 50p this week. 340 a ton. These were from a farm just down the road.
we need the farm prices to rise a bit. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sagitta are around the £200 mark. So a minimum of 120 a ton for the merchant. I know everyone has to make a pound.
Where abouts in the country is this?
Most large volume chippies this way (notts / Derbyshire) still only paying £6.50 for good sagitta. Smaller 10 bag a week shops / pubs might be at £8 but not the general rule.
Lots of competition around here tho.....
 

Trying my best

Member
Mixed Farmer
Depends on tonnage? We have a Prinsen palletiser the same as what David Harrison had on his stand, nice compact machine for small growers, easy to use
Not massive tonnage, I saw the one on David Harrison stand. Agree looks a nice compact machine to almost 'plug and play'. He was talking 60k mark.
Seen a robot arm type advertised in last month's farmers guide magazine 38k. Didn't see one at the show to compare tho.
There's talk of some grants in the new year for this sort of thing.
 

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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