KENYA · GUIDE 0017 · EDITION 4.2
Okra growing - Pricing, break-even and cash flow
Price an accepted unit, not an activity title
Start with this sale unit: accepted kilogram.
Start with customers already cooking okra and agree the pod maturity they prefer, designing the picking routine around tenderness instead of maximum harvested weight alone.
A quotation needs the accepted quantity or scope, exclusions, completion point, delivery arrangement and payment schedule. Without that specification, two apparently similar prices may pay for different work.
Build the direct-cost sheet
- seed
- picking labour
- rejected mature pods
Include regular picking visits, careful handling and the cost of pods left too long, assigning these losses to the batch that required that picking effort.
| Calculation | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Variable cost per accepted unit | Direct inputs, labour, delivery and measured losses divided by accepted units. |
| Contribution per unit | Agreed selling price minus variable cost per unit. |
| Period operating surplus | Contribution from units sold minus fixed overhead for the same period. |
| Break-even units | Fixed overhead divided by positive contribution, rounded up. |
Count rejected output, unsold stock and correction time. Keep fixed overhead in a consistent period; a daily contribution cannot be compared directly with a monthly overhead figure. If contribution is zero or negative, extra sales do not establish a workable break-even point.
Reconcile the cash separately
A customer's unpaid balance cannot pay today's supplier bill. List actual collections, advance payments, supplier deadlines, refunds and recurring bills by date. Separate refundable deposits and money held for an uncompleted commitment from funds freely available for expansion.
A delay between buyer orders can leave plants producing pods beyond the preferred stage, so sales uncertainty quickly becomes a harvest-quality problem for this enterprise.
Test a weaker outcome
Recalculate with fewer accepted units, a delayed customer collection or a higher input quotation. Change one assumption at a time to see which constraint matters. Use the actual pilot record: Record picking dates, buyer comments on tenderness, rejected mature pods and the timing of repeat orders to test whether customer demand supports the required work rhythm.
Do not interpret the invented financial teaching exercise in the complete manuscript as a market price or predicted income. Replace its assumptions before using it for a real decision. The public planning tool can help with arithmetic; it does not validate the inputs.