Agriculture & Agribusiness
For growers, co-operatives, packers and agri-food exporters selling into international markets. We build the buyer pipeline, cost records and reporting behind each sale.
Our perspective
Most growers know their yield per hectare to the decimal and their margin per buyer only after the season has closed. The selling price is set by an international market, costs arrive months apart (inputs in spring, drying, storage and freight after harvest), and the list of buyers often lives in one person's phone. We have carried out buyer-sourcing research for an agricultural commodity grower, and we build the buyer pipeline, cost-per-tonne records and reporting that let a producer decide who to sell to, when, and below which price not to sell.
Market signals
01
The EU's agricultural industry produced output worth an estimated €562.5 billion in 2025, 5.8% more than in 2024, while the cost of the goods and services used in production rose 2.3%.
02
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September 2026, 5.8% higher than a year earlier and level with November 2022. The cereal index rose 5.1% in the month.
03
FAO forecasts world cereal trade in 2026/27 at 505.8 million tonnes, 3.5% below the previous season, largely because Black Sea shipping routes are constrained and alternative transport capacity is short.
How we help clients
Buyer sourcing and qualification
TF-04GrowthWe build a long list of importers, processors, packers and wholesalers from trade data, directories and exhibitor lists, then qualify each one on volumes bought, specification, payment terms and the markets it supplies. The result is a ranked buyer file with a contact route and the reason for each ranking.
Cost per tonne and margin by buyer
TF-08FinanceInputs, labour, drying, storage, grading, packing and freight are allocated to each lot, so the margin on every sale is known when the contract is signed instead of after the harvest accounts are closed.
When to sell and when to store
TF-01StrategyWe model what holding stock costs in storage, shrinkage, finance and quality risk against the price range a later sale would need to reach, so the decision to sell at harvest or store has a number behind it.
Lot records buyers can check
TF-10RiskField, harvest date, storage location, grading and laboratory results recorded against each lot let a producer answer a buyer's traceability or due-diligence questionnaire from records, and trace a quality claim back to its source.
Export website and enquiry handling
TF-06Technology & DataProduct specifications, certificates and packing options published in the buyer's language, with enquiry forms that capture volume, destination and delivery window, give overseas buyers what they need before the first call.
Stock and dispatch by grade
TF-07OperationsStock held by grade, location and lot, linked to open contracts, shows what is committed, what is free to sell and which shipments are due in the next fortnight.
What changes next
Buyers switching origin at short notice
With FAO forecasting a 3.5% fall in world cereal trade for 2026/27 because of shipping constraints, importers are moving orders between origins as routes open and close. Producers with a qualified buyer list, current specifications and price floors ready can answer those requests the week they arrive.
Input costs moving apart from selling prices
The World Bank's April 2026 outlook projected fertiliser prices to rise 31% in 2026 while its agricultural price index falls 6%. A grower who budgets on last season's input costs will set the wrong floor price for this season's crop.
Due diligence reaching the farm gate
Large and medium operators must meet the EU Deforestation Regulation from 30 December 2026 for the commodities it covers, and buyers subject to it will ask suppliers for plot and lot data. Growers who already hold that data per lot can respond without delaying a shipment.
Business challenges
01
Selling to whoever calls first
When the buyer list is short, the producer takes the first acceptable offer. Without a wider, qualified list there is no way to know whether a better price or better payment terms were available that week.
02
Margin known after the season
Costs are booked by invoice date, not by lot or buyer. The farm accounts show whether the year made money, but not which buyer, grade or sale date made it.
03
Buyer relationships held by one person
Prices agreed, specifications and payment history often sit in one person's messages. If that person is unavailable during harvest, sales stall.
04
Quality disputes after delivery
A buyer reports moisture, size or foreign matter outside the contract on arrival. Without grading and storage records for the lot, the producer cannot contest the claim and accepts the deduction.
05
Prices in one currency, costs in another
Export contracts priced in dollars or euros against local-currency costs mean the margin moves between contract and payment. Few producers record the rate assumed in each contract, so the effect goes unmeasured.
Where the opportunity sits
A wider, ranked buyer base
A qualified buyer list with known volumes and terms gives the producer a choice in a weak week, and a reason to decline an offer below the floor price.
Floor prices set from real costs
Cost per tonne by lot, refreshed as inputs and storage costs come in, gives the sales lead a minimum price for each grade before negotiation starts.
Claims answered with records
Lot records that hold grading and laboratory results let a producer answer a quality claim with evidence, and show which storage or handling step causes most of the claims.
How we approach it
We start read-only with the records that already exist: sales contracts and invoices, the buyer list, cost files and the farm accounts, storage and grading logs, and any laboratory reports. We follow one lot from harvest to payment and note where weights, grades or prices are re-typed or estimated. Findings become a prioritised task list, each item with an owner and an acceptance check. If the client wants us to build, the same team delivers the buyer research, cost records, lot tracking, export website and reporting, and leaves them in the client's own accounts. Introductions and negotiation stay with the producer. Agronomy, crop insurance, grading certification, commodity broking, hedging advice, and legal or tax advice stay with qualified specialists.
How our experience is evidenced
THEFOCUS has worked with businesses in this sector, including buyer-sourcing research for an agricultural commodity grower. Client engagements are confidential, and no anonymised record has yet been approved for publication. No commercial results are claimed.
How an engagement with THEFOCUS starts
A first conversation is about your situation. If there is a fit, we propose a scoped diagnostic with a fixed deliverable before any larger commitment.
Discuss this with us01
A working conversation
Forty-five minutes with the person who would lead the work. We ask about the decision, the systems behind it and the deadline.
02
A scoped diagnostic
Read-only access, a fixed timeframe and a written finding: what the records show, what it costs and what to change first.
03
A plan you can act on
Changes, owners, measures and exclusions in writing. The same team then builds and measures, or hands over cleanly.
- One accountable team
- The people who diagnose also build the systems and measure the result.
- Partners chosen per problem
- Independent specialists join for the parts that need them, under one contract.
- Records before dashboards
- Orders, ledgers and logs are reconciled before any recommendation depends on them.
Questions executives ask
Have you worked with agricultural producers?
Yes, including buyer-sourcing research for an agricultural commodity grower. The engagement is confidential and no anonymised record has been approved for publication, so we describe it only in general terms.
Can you find buyers for our crop?
We research and qualify buyers by volume, specification, payment terms and destination market, and hand over a ranked file with contact routes. We do not act as a broker or agent, and the introductions and negotiation stay with you.
Will you tell us when to sell or whether to hedge?
We model storage costs, finance costs and price scenarios so you can see what a later sale would need to achieve. Hedging and the use of futures or forward contracts should be decided with your broker or bank.
What do you need from us to start?
Last season's sales contracts and invoices, your cost records, the buyer list in whatever form it exists, and storage or grading logs. We work read-only until a plan is agreed.
Discuss this with us
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