KENYA · GUIDE 0023 · EDITION 4.2
Strawberry growing - Pricing, break-even and cash flow
Price an accepted unit, not an activity title
Start with this sale unit: punnet.
Offer strawberries in a pack that protects a specific buyer's use, distinguishing attractive whole fruit for direct eating from sound fruit accepted for immediate preparation.
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
- plants
- protective materials
- packing losses
Include picking delicacy, repeated sorting, protective containers and unsold soft fruit, assigning the actual pack cost to each paid unit rather than spreading it across harvest weight.
| 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.
Bright top-layer berries can hide damage underneath, so a successful tasting at the farm may fail to predict the customer's experience after the planned delivery journey.
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 stage, pack arrangement, journey observations, damaged weight and customer reorder behaviour, comparing presentation choices using fruit that experienced the same normal delivery route.
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.