Abstract
This paper describes the efficiency of physical distribution systems for vegetables, in which vegetable production areas are connected with central wholesale markets. The distribution systems are compared with the hypothetical minimum-cost distribution system, which is defined as an optimum solution of a linear programming problem. Data on the representative vegetables such as radishes, cabbages, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions are used for the analysis.
The results are summarized as follows: (1) Total transportation costs between production areas and the wholesale markets are increasing because of the increase in transactions, the transfer of production areas from suburban areas to remote areas, and the widening of trading areas. (2) The efficiency of the distribution is decreasing as a result of wholesaler' surplus collecting activities compared with the shifts of producing areas.
These results indicate that the cost-efficiency in vegetable distribution systems is decreasing.
