Let’s go shopping to Hainburg!
When it comes to shopping, Hainburg is the place to go, everything is super over there.
OK, prices may be higher but the “Western” quality makes up for it.
I keep hearing this over and over again lately.
Although it is the same chain, quality abroad is quite different; this is how many explain why they shop in the same chain, which is also present on our side of the Danube.
At the same time, it was the news of the week that the share of Slovak products in our stores was down year-on-year.
However, all Slovak producers know that during negotiations with retailers all of them declare interest in selling domestic products, only for the lowest price.
It is expected that Slovak products would be better than foreign ones, but in reality they do not even make it to the shelves of stores as retailers force suppliers to unrealistic price levels. And even if Slovak producers are excellent, they still do not know how to do magic.
Let’s take milk as an example.
The purchase price of raw milk in Germany is around 26 cents and state subsidies for producers are 10-12 cents, so farmers have 36 - 38 cents to produce milk.
This ensures them a modest profit. There processor buys milk for 26 cents, sells it wrapped to chains for 35 cents or more, and has a slight profit.
Chains sell milk with at least a 20 percent margin and it is profitable for them.
Milk that German processors cannot sell on the good German market gets offered for the cost of production to Slovakia. At the same time, Slovak farmers sell their milk for 26 cents and receive a subsidy of about 5 cents, so they can only sell it at a loss, because their costs are at least 34 cents.
Processors buy milk for 26 cents and chains want to purchase the packaged and processed milk for 27 cents. In case of such sale, not even the primary production costs of the processor are covered, let alone logistics, management or write-offs.
The retailer sells at prices you can see in the store. Who gets bankrupt? Well, chains certainly do not.
Small producers of quality products have no chance to make it to the retailer chains because their brand is unknown for purchasers.
So they rather prefer foreign, products whose quality is not good - people only look at the price, chains say. The circle is now complete.
Small producers of quality products have no chance to establish themselves, farmers and local processors are heading to bankruptcy.
Jobs are being lost, we are losing our own culture, knowledge of experts and within two years, we will all be going to Hainburg and extolling the clever Austrian farmers, processors, small producers and good chains ...
Celebratory toast will be with white gold from Germany or Poland, because in these countries they can produce and do not have to use magic.
