Mercasa

The state is gradually beginning to understand how many problems the peasants have in connection with the difficulty of accessing retail chains. But it, alas, again begins to take on them "not from that end."

Meanwhile, in the world there is a large one, and, which is characteristic, the positive experience of solving this issue. This is done, contrary to the errors of our ultraliberals, with the most direct participation of the state.
For example, in Spain (the country, by the way, with a very developed agro -industrial complex), there is a state company Mercasa (here you can see the presentation about the company Link ), established by the ... Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture of the country. They created a huge network of logistics centers, where the widest range of food products enters: from vegetables and fruits to fish and marine delicacies.

The company acts in the closest interaction with peasants and cooperatives, and support for local manufacturers is one of its main tasks. Incoming goods take place in its centers the necessary processing, packing, and only then sent to consumers.

As a result, everyone wins. Such a company becomes one of the main "market makers", due to large volumes, affecting retail prices and preserving products affordable for the consumer. The remaining retail networks are forced to act with an eye on logistics centers: they cannot sell milk and sausage twice as much. At the same time, farmers are also satisfied: they have a reliable sales channel. And accordingly, there is an incentive to increase the production of agrarian products.

Alas, in Russia the government goes along a completely different path.

Firstly, domestic logistics centers are planned to be built according to the “grocery” principle: here is fish, there is meat, and vegetables are somewhere “for distant land”. Such trading facilities for the vast majority of consumers are not interesting: they need to purchase everything in one place.

Secondly, which is much worse, our state does not create a network itself, but subsidizes interest rates on loans for potential private owners. But this is the most important component of market infrastructure! The state does not give up the mains of the main gas pipelines.

For peasants, the creation of logistics centers in such a configuration makes little sense. They will not have a guaranteed sales channel. For manufacturers, this is just another private trading network that will also “twist their hands”, lowering purchase prices below the level of profitability. And the main profit will continue to settle in trade.

I want to be understood correctly: I have nothing against trade. But if all the profit will settle there, and the peasants will remain crumbs, once there will simply be nothing to sell. And this is worth finally thinking about it.

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