Should I Load the Truck?
Work out whether a load of yam, maize, tomatoes or cassava is worth hauling to Techiman market — set the load, what you pay to buy, the lorry and the market fees against the price you expect, and see the profit and the break-even price you must clear.
Before you pay for a load and hire a lorry to Techiman market, work out whether it pays. Put in what you buy for, what you expect to sell for at Techiman, and the cost of the truck and the market — the tool works out your profit and the lowest Techiman price that still covers the trip. It uses only the numbers you type; nothing is saved or sent.
Market days at Techiman: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Work out the trip
Fill in what you know. Everything stays in this phone — nothing is saved or sent.
The maxi bag that moves on the floor. Techiman clears more than 20,000 bags of maize in a good week.
What one costs where you are loading
Start from the guide below, then use today's floor price
The whole truck cost, one figure
Everything else for the trip
Enter the load, the price at Techiman, and your costs — the buy price, the lorry, or the market fees — to see whether the trip pays.
How to use this
- Pick what you are carrying and set the load in the unit you trade in — bags, crates or hundreds of tubers.
- Put in the price you pay to buy where you are, and the price you expect at Techiman. The guide under the boxes shows the last official wholesale price to check against — but a market price can change from one market day to the next, so use today's price from the floor, a trusted contact or the radio.
- Add the whole lorry cost and the market fees. The tool shows your profit, your profit on each bag or crate, and the lowest Techiman price that still covers the trip.
- If a buyer's offer is below that break-even price, the load loses money. That is the number to hold in your head before you agree a price.
Agree the lorry price before you load
Techiman sits where the trunk roads from Kumasi, Sunyani, Wa and Tamale meet, which is why the market is this big — cargo moves on hired trucks from the lorry parks. Haulage is negotiated, not fixed. Agree the price for your load and route before it goes on the truck, and put that one figure in the lorry box above.
Where the price guide comes from
- Ministry of Food and Agriculture — market prices (SRID) — The official wholesale prices for Techiman market the guide is built from.
This is your own arithmetic, not today's price