Supermarket Routine

jjdrer

I can understand costs being higher in country areas but it doesn't help the consumer except you don't to allow for huge fuel bills to travel in your car.
Transport costs for goods to be taken anywhere are huge !! Fuel, Registration, Insurance and other Govt. taxes (including Workcover calculated on %) are beyond belief. It costs over $1000.00 to re-fuel a semi-trailer from near empty. (I know somebody who owns one). Diesel fuel is often more expensive than the fuel used for cars, vans etc yet it is cheaper to produce. The Govt. sometimes pays a Transport Co. a siightly higher fuel rebate but they increase other charges such as the levy to the extent that transport businesses (especially family owned) end up worse off financially.
When it comes to the price of goods made from grain I really wonder how some farmers survive. I have a distant relative in the South East region of SA. He showed me the paperwork that he received with one of his cheques (for part of his crop). It showed the gross amount less storage, handling and other charges). THe net amount was less than 50%. Out of that he had already paid freight, fuel for his equipment, mininum amount of fertilizer needed (the soil is very limy down there - part of it solid) and they had to eat. They grow part of their own fruit and vegetables. They also make most of their meals from scratch. The only time they have takeaway is if they have to go a long distance for business, are delayed and haven't taken enough food with them. They don't go out much as they also have sheep. They never go away from home for more than 3 days.1. They simply can't afford to. 2. They have to get somebody to check the sheep to make sure there is plenty of water in their troughs and make sure that none of them are sick or injured. Their dogs also have to be checked and fed etc, their water containers cleaned out and re-filled. The wind blows a lot of dirt and other debri into their buckets and food bowls. There is always dry food in some of their bowls. They very rarely go further than necessary in dry hot weather because of bushfire risk. They had one which had started at the edge of the road, possibly from the hot exhaust of a car or truck.There was a lot of grain trucks in the area at that time. Luckily they spotted the smoke and he was up near their farmsheds so he jumped into his own fire truck which was full of fuel and the water tank was full, and was able to put the fire out himself. It burnt out only one large paddock. Fortunately there were no sheep in that area and the crop had been harvested or the fire would have spread quickly......The farmers eventually receive payment for the whole of their crop, sometimes nearly a year later - not long before they start harvesting the next one.
Further freight costs come for transport of grain to flour mills + to bakeries or cereal manufacurers + shops. Surprisingly the plastic bags that sliced bread is put in are quite expensive too. I can't remember the exact amount but I gasped when I was told. Bread and cereals are a staple in most peoples' diets.
At annoys me that some country people pay more packaged food made in their area than in those in distant cities or even interstate. e.g. A few years ago we went on a holiday in Vic. only a few hours from Shepparton where there is/was a huge processer of canned fruit. The canned fruit we bought over there was more expensive that what we paid in the Supermarket in Adelaide at normal price. In many areas country people are being "ripped off" big time, especially where goods are produced locally.