What 38 % actually means

We publish the share of the retail price that reaches the co-op. For a Large Yak Chew Bar at €17.00 that share is €6.46, or 38 %. Here is what the other 62 % does.

The lines nobody prints

◆€1.36: drying, grading and packing in Nepal, paid as wages, not deducted from the milk price.

◆€1.79: sea freight, duty and the customs agent in Rotterdam.

◆€1.11: warehousing and picking, which is a rented rack and Joost.

◆€2.28: the parcel itself, tracked, across the EU.

◆€0.48: card fees.

◆€3.52: us. Wages, rent, the lab reports, the tape.

Two things make the number honest. The co-op sets its price before we set ours, and the share is calculated on retail rather than on landed cost, which is where most published figures quietly get generous with themselves.

A fair-trade number computed on wholesale can be double the same number computed on retail. Ask which one you are reading.

The share moves with freight. In the 2024 season it was 41 %, because the container was cheaper and the euro was kinder.