Farmers have a simple idea that can save Romanian food: “The customer can with a single click see where the tomato comes from”
Vegetable producers are looking for solutions to successfully overcome the “trial” of Mercosur. Moreover, I say that their situation is still difficult at present. An idea born in the pandemic could change things.
The producers would like to be able to take the products directly to the final consumer PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“We are too small, too divided, too vulnerable. We don't need Mercosur to be destroyed”, says the vegetable grower Mihai Chesnoiu, one of the producers who put his shoulder to make the cooperative “Tastes from the country”, which brings together dozens of vegetable producers from Olt and Buzău, a fully functional one.
The members of the cooperative operate 12 hectares of solariums, over 50 hectares cultivated with vegetables in the field, fruit orchards and recently established orchards, and last year the volume of products sold through the cooperative was over 700 tons.
Small producers were constantly criticized for not partnering to be able to negotiate from other positions with the big chain stores, because these chains were seen as their safety net to capitalize on their products. Most farmers, it's true, know how to produce and that's it. They are in the hands of the middlemen, they have no control over the price, they do not know whether the labor will bring them profit or loss. When discussions arose about the possible impact of the MERCOSUR agreement on their work, they thought again. Instead, online feedback was exactly what they needed to understand what consumers really wanted from them and turn the threat into an opportunity.
“I, from the 2.50 lei, have 10 profit. The market, from the 4.50 lei commercial addition, has 4 lei profit”
And what if they brought their products as close as possible to consumers, in stores where customers know what they are buying, but also from whom?
This is how the proposal was born that Mihai Chesnoiu launched to the mayors, in a video on his account on a social network, to give them unused spaces in cities to transform into stores with products directly from the manufacturer, or even land where modular constructions can be placed for the same purpose. Let it be that solution, for producer and consumer alike, that the agri-food market no longer represents today. Producers do not ask for a handout, but a rent exemption for the respective premises/land for the first year, until they manage to get the idea off the ground.
Dozens of producers from Olt and Buzau deliver to large stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“There wouldn't be large amounts invested. We also found a little bit of funding, we also found a little bit of support.” Chesnoiu begins to explain the idea, noting that it is a plan born since the pandemic, when short-chain supply meant a lot, and consumers have proven that they want fresh products, they are willing to pay a fair price, but they demand quality and seriousness in return.
Marketing has always been the big problem of small farmers. And today, when the agreement that brought the farmers of many countries of the European Union to the streets has not yet taken effect, they are having a hard time. There is a monopoly of the big importers that even today prevents them from taking their goods to the big stores or getting for their vegetables, products with costs above those of the producers in the countries from which they are imported, prices that would help them grow, says Chesnoiu. Or the manufacturer's stores could be, in this context, real “saving points”.
“We should make some save points, some options that we can eventually turn into success. Because we are now starting from trying to change the market a little bit in our favor to save ourselves, but I say it will be a success. It is the only way to “brand” and promote ourselves as an individual producer. Because we have no alternative to promote as an individual producer”explained Chesnoiu, for “Adevărul”.
The association is the basis in this endeavor as well, the farmer pointed out. The producers who associate will each have a share according to the input, and the economic activity would be carried out independently of the production part.
Dozens of producers from Olt and Buzau deliver to large stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“We will deliver like any store, only we will deliver to our own stores. (…) I see it as a circuit of shops, that is, it should be somewhere in a route, in a single route for each producer area, so that you don't run to a shopkeeper 100 km to the left, to another 100 km to the right. That is, we each focus on one area and we can create a chain of stores so that we supply 3-4 on one route”. detailed the farmer.
The difference between such an approach and the contractual relations that some farmers already have, through cooperatives, with the big chains is that they will no longer be conditioned by the store's orders, which also depend on the volume of imported products with which domestic producers compete in certain periods.
Dozens of producers from Olt and Buzau deliver to large stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“No one is profiting from our work anymore. Because there are times when store markups far exceed our selling price, the total price, not the profit per product price. If they sell the tomato for 2.50 lei, it is possible for a market to put it on the shelf for 6.50 lei. I, from the 2.50 lei, have 10 profit. The market, from 4.50 lei of commercial addition, has 4 lei profit. And then we can control ourselves, we can bring before the consumer a fair price, a fresh product, we can have direct contact, traceability, the consumer sees where the product comes from”, Mihai Chesnoiu also showed.
“The customer can see where the tomato is from with a single click”
Manufacturers see these stores in the center of the community, in areas with parking and utility connections, because they want a civilized trade. In every city today there are unused spaces, says Chesnoiu, former post offices, disused thermal points, etc., which could serve this purpose. In order to ensure diversified goods, a system is being considered in which the producers involved follow a culture plan. Producers from animal husbandry and other branches that put locally produced food on Romanians' tables would also find their place in these stores.
Dozens of producers from Olt and Buzau deliver to large stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
Because the relationship of trust is built, the producers even thought of technical solutions that would allow the customer to see where the food comes from, under what conditions the vegetables are produced, etc.
Dozens of producers from Olt and Buzau deliver to large stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“We are already working with someone on this, we will also have an application with cameras in the solar house and the customer can with a single click access and see where the tomato is from, see the plant, see where the fruits are picked. (…) If we take a step forward, we want to make it big, climb three steps. We have been analyzing these things since 2020 or 2021, since the pandemic, since the markets closed. There are still small differences of ideas vis-à-vis location, size, operation, but these are details, we will adjust them”, Chesnoiu also said.
Why markets are no longer an option
The need for some producer stores was born naturally, the farmer explains, the agro-food markets, where buyers find mainly traders, never keeping up with the times.
Producers want to sell to consumers through their own stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“The market is outdated. Markets are not promoted. Local administrations do not take care of their renovation. They are cold spaces in winter, very warm in summer. There are no parking spaces. A lot of tax evasion, unfortunately. They are trying to correct the sector also through us, through the producers, through our example, but they do not go where the real problem is. There is a lot of import goods in the markets, even in the height of the production season. Because those who contact warehouses and work with calibration and crates, they get used to sourcing from there and it's harder to contact the manufacturer and work with us”, says Chesnoiu. Traders in the markets unload small volumes of goods and, moreover, control the price for long periods, speculating on the work of producers, the latter complain.
Lesson learned from negative comments
On the other hand, consumers have proven that they want Romanian products, but they want something more than that, Chesnoiu believes.
Producers want to sell to consumers through their own stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
“Stores would primarily bring another face to the product. It would bring what people are asking for: innovation in our work. It would bring education. It would bring the pleasure of consuming Romanian again. I think that all the people who want the Romanian product would still like something more from us. Beyond the taste and quality of what we offer, I think they would also like to see that we manage to keep up with what's new. That is, it would bring a good image of us, of the producer. We need a better picture. I feel it directly. All producers feel it. I talk with my colleagues in groups. This is the subject of these days: the image of the Romanian producer vis-a-vis the consumer, the perception of the consumer, especially in the context of the signing of the MERCOSUR agreement. There are many comments online, pro and con. We analyze all negative comments. Not that we are not interested in those that favor us. It is clear, we appreciate and are proud that there are people who appreciate our work and confirm us and validate us as producers, but we analyze very carefully everything against us, press articles, posts, videos, comments and see what the problem is. Where do these complaints towards the Romanian producer come from and why do we disappoint those who don't want us or those who criticize us, not necessarily that they don't want us. We need to analyze the criticisms so that we can perform and move towards satisfying the widest possible range of consumers”, Chesnoiu also said.
Producers want to sell to consumers through their own stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
Negative comments are well countered by positive opinions, and this encourages farmers to look for solutions to get closer to what the end customer is looking for.
Producers want to sell to consumers through their own stores PHOTO: Mihai Chesnoiu
There are, on the other hand, a lot of clichés, the farmer appreciates. Pesticide use, one of the recurring topics, “catch” the best. In the context of discussions about the Mercosur agreement, the opinion that the products brought from Latin American countries are of superior quality almost defies logic, Mihai Chesnoiu believes. “How can you say that, when that product comes from thousands of kilometers? How can you say that the tomato is of better quality when mine spoils the next day? That tomato stays 3 days in the container, or 5 days in the container, because the transport will be done by sea, it comes to Romania, from Romania it goes to a warehouse, it is unloaded at that warehouse, it is packed and delivered to the logistics platform and it takes another day from the logistics platform to the shelf store. We're talking about a circuit of at least 7 days, you can't say that that product is coming and will be clearly superior”claims the local producer.
