LOSSES IN THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF VEGETABLES IN A NET RETAIL OF THE FEDERAL DISTRICT, BRAZIL

Abstract

The objective of this work was to account for the losses of tomato, bell pepper and carrot in a retail network of Distrito Federal, Brazil. Based on the identification of the levels of physical losses in four stores of the retail network of Distrito Federal, the cost of the losses in the commercialization of each product responsible for the final price was calculated and represented in percentages on the composition of the your final price. The levels of losses were detected by observations through weekly visits to four supermarkets of the same retail net during the year of 1999. Taken in account the vegetable observed, the general level of losses detected was of 21%, on average. For each product, the medium levels of physical losses were of 30%, 20% and 12%, for tomato, bell pepper and carrot, respectively. The costs of losses in the commercialization represented an incremental rate of 49,7% 39,0% and 20,9% on prices of tomato acquisition, bell pepper and carrot, respectively. In the commercialization process, the costs of the losses in the final prices of the products are paid by the consumers. However, the break down imposed by the losses to consumers results in low availability of food and higher retailer prices which are shared with the whole society.